A Cyberattack Paralyzed Every Gas Station In Iran

Iran's president said Wednesday that a cyberattack which paralyzed every gas station in the Islamic Republic was designed to get "people angry by creating disorder and disruption," as long lines still snaked around the pumps a day after the incident began. NPR reports: Ebrahim Raisi's remarks stopped short of assigning blame for the attack, which rendered useless the government-issued electronic cards that many Iranians use to buy subsidized fuel at the pump. However, his remarks suggested that he and others in the theocracy believe anti-Iranian forces carried out the assault. "There should be serious readiness in the field of cyberwar and related bodies should not allow the enemy to follow their ominous aims to make problem in trend of people's life," Raisi said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that began Tuesday, though it bore similarities to another months earlier that seemed to directly challenge Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country's economy buckles under American sanctions.

On Wednesday morning, IRNA quoted another official who claimed 80% of Iran's gas stations had begun selling fuel again. Associated Press journalists saw long lines at multiple gas stations in Tehran. One station had a line of 90 cars waiting for fuel. Those buying ended up having to pay at higher, unsubsidized prices. Tuesday's attack rendered useless the government-issued electronic cards that many Iranians use to buy subsidized fuel at the pump. The semiofficial ISNA news agency, which first called the incident a cyberattack, said it saw those trying to buy fuel with a government-issued card through the machines instead receiving a message reading "cyberattack 64411." While ISNA didn't acknowledge the number's significance, that number is associated with a hotline run through Khamenei's office that handles questions about Islamic law. ISNA later removed its reports, claiming that it too had been hacked. Such claims of hacking can come quickly when Iranian outlets publish news that angers the theocracy.

PoC || GTFO

[phantomfive]

There was no evidence presented that it was a cyber attack. Occam's razor says it was just a down server.

Re:

[zenlessyank]

Except for the fact that 'cyberattack 64411' was posted on some of the pump screens.

Re:

[Aighearach]

Perhaps it was, or perhaps it was a joke making fun of the government.

But if you believe the source of the claims that the screens said "cyberattack 64411" then you'd have to believe the screens actually did not say that, because they say they got hacked too and that's where the report came from.

Maybe it really did say that, maybe they told the truth first, then lied to cover up having made that mistake. But it seems more likely that they either got hacked, or that they lied first, and then lied again.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

And there's video footage of related messages [twitter.com] (it says "Khamenei, where's our petrol?"). No way to tell how legit that is, but if it was staged then they put an awful lot of effort into setting it up.

Re:

[anonymouscoward52236]

False flag maybe?

OWWW!! You hurt us. Now we need to attack, mmmkay?

Re:

[zenlessyank]

Those arent jews. Just an fyi. Also, seek therapy.

Re: Jews up to their disgusting activities again

[mateo650]

Is this the type of comments that we see on Slashdot these days? What the heck

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

It's actually gotten rather better since Trump was removed from office, but unfortunately there's still plenty of his fans around, although they're more typically openly xenophobic, islamophobic, and homophobic than antisemitic.

"anti-Iranian forces carried out the assault"

[schwit1]

That doesn't exactly shrink the list of suspects.

Re:"anti-Iranian forces carried out the assault"

[sysrammer]

Yeah, I imagine the list of pro-Iranian forces that would carry out the assault would be rather small.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

You obviously haven't spent enough time listening to conspiracy theorists.

Re:

[Aighearach]

Don't underestimate the Russians hackers.

Re:

[timeOday]

Who else might do it could include a domestic group that is pro-Iran but against the current leadership, or a financially motivated group that is not anti-Iranian but just wants money or street cred, a competitor in the industry, or an eco-hacktivist group against oil and gas, or a disgruntled programmer or lost his job.

Not saying any of these are as likely as an adversarial nation-state but sometimes the intuitive explanation is not the right one.

Re:

[phantomfive]

Note: most Americans also are pro-Iran but against the current leadership.

Re:

[joe_frisch]

I think the list of suspects was pretty small to begin with. Its possible this attack was not carried out by the same countries that have essentially admitted committing previous attacks, but that isn't the way I'd bet.

Re:

[Tablizer]

*cough* Israel *cough*. USA is probably too busy with Russia and China to focus much on Iran's cyberverse.

Re:

[ghoul]

Israeli IT industry is full of Russian Jews who left the Soviet Union in the 90s. Difficult to tell Russian and Israeli attacks apart.

Re:

[angel'o'sphere]

Could as well be an dress rehearsal exercise of one who likes to attack another target later.

Has probably not even anything to do with "gas station" but with a future attack were the victims run a similar/same system.

Re: "anti-Iranian forces carried out the assault"

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Don't rule out the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council either. Despite their public anti-semitic rhetoric, they're close allies when it comes to Iran. They probably used NSA malware kits to do it too.

Re:

[nitehawk214]

I was going to ask "well who the fuck else would do it". But it is entirely possibly it was just buggy code or a server that was down.

Ration cards + cash is robust backup

[couchslug]

The goal of a cashless society is stupid because it's so vulnerable.

While cashless is convenient I keep a few grand (well hidden in an unconventional location not in my house) at home in case of natural disasters, network outages etc. (Many local gas stations have generators and continue to sell product but their landlines are sometimes down.)

Re:

[timeOday]

The last time I bought a motorcycle I too cash to entice the seller. He sold me the bike but didn't want it in cash, "what am I, the FBI? I can't just look at money and be sure it's real."

Re:Ration cards + cash is robust backup

[arglebargle_xiv]

I've had exactly the same problem, wanted to buy a scooter off a guy on Craigslist, turned up to pay for it in case and he said he couldn't take it because he couldn't tell whether the thirty-seven-dollar notes I had were legit currency. What a time-waster that was.

Re:

[thegarbz]

He sold me the bike but didn't want it in cash

There's a non-zero cost and risk to handling cash. Here the cash free society isn't being driven by some evil government overlords, but rather shops themselves.

Re:

[sabt-pestnu]

I, too, have a sealed tin can filled with cash buried in my back yard...

Though I keep two other cans filled with bottle caps, just in case...

Really?

[jenningsthecat]

designed to get "people angry by creating disorder and disruption"

I thought that was the job of the Ayatollahs.

Re:

[Aighearach]

Oh, good, then it must have been us! We win! Suck it, losers, no gas for you!

But it's all right now,

[Tablizer]

in fact it's a gas. [youtube.com]