Much about the shamoon 2 cyberattacks appears to fit irans past behavior and emerging cyber strategy, which began to take shape after stuxnet. This new national security strategy positions the united states to safeguard our national interests through strong and sustainable leadership. Evolving menace irans use of cyberenabled economic warfare. What would a deterrence strategy that targets irans use. Its a hot topic, but compared to north koreas nucleartipped missile program, irans destabilizing activities in the middle east, chinas muscleflexing across almost all domains of statecraft, and russias growing role as a.
Unpacking russias new national security strategy center. After one year, the world knows that america is prosperous, america is. Today, the trump administration released its national security strategy. Iran s cyber military the iranian cyber army is said by some cybersecurity researchers to operate on behalf of iran s islamic revolutionary guard corps, a branch of the countrys military. The challenges iran faces from the islamic state, other sunni extremist groups, and allied state instability have driven the shift to larger scale mobilization of proxy and partner groups in the past three years, although notably there appears to be little parallel impetus to. Iranian cyber threat actors have continuously improved their offensive cyber capabilities. The narrowly tailored extension of these authorities could help ensure that irans cyber operations do not benefit from technology transfers or foreign assistance as tehran expands its security and commercial ties, especially to countries such as russia and china. This ecosystem is unique, involving diverse statealigned operators with differing capabilities and affiliations. Irans foreign and defense policies irans national security policy is arguably the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of irans islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country. Iran s emergent cyber strategy much about the shamoon 2 cyberattacks appears to fit iran s past behavior and emerging cyber strategy, which began to take shape after stuxnet. The national cyber strategy demonstrates my commitment to strengthening americas.
The authors conclude that iraq is widely recognized as the leading threat to iran s islamic regime and afghanistan is seen as an emerging threat. Unlike other worms or vi ruses, it could cause physical destruction to equipment. These talking points, prepared for the nsa directors meeting with the head of the united kingdoms government communications headquarters, includes a section devoted to iranian cyber attacks on u. Iran, and north korea all use cyberspace as a means to. Irans use of cyberenabled economic warfare page 6 executive summary in 2016, the industrial computer security firm malcrawler conducted an experiment. It is still not in the top rank of cyber powers, but it is ahead of most nations in strategy and organization for cyber warfare. This document deals with the iranian national security strategy and the tensions among its components.
Iran maintains a robust cyber program and can execute. Even so, iran is developing just as quickly as israelif not even more quicklyand when sanctions are lifted as part of the recently signed nuclear deal, iran will have far more substantial resources to devote to cyberwarfare. Can iran be deterred from engaging in offensive cyber. Aug 05, 2019 at least four organizations play a role in irans offensive cyber operations. The cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency cisa is sharing the following information with the cybersecurity community as a primer for assisting in the protection of our nations critical infrastructure in light of the current tensions between the islamic republic of iran and the united states and irans historic use of cyber offensive activities to retaliate against perceived harm. The national cyber strategy demonstrates my commitment to strengthening americas cybersecurity capabilities and securing america from cyber threats. Whether the aim is to give russia and the world a holiday gift or to avoid notice, this practice effectively ensures that not a few russiawatchers face a. The countrys state sponsored hackers are capable of launching significant attacks. The islamic republics cyber strategy cyber operations are a key pillar of irans strategy, which relies on asymmetric capabilities to battle its more powerful adversaries. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The uaes evolving national security strategy 4 arab region, allowing the free practice of all religions and increasingly integrating women into social and political leadership roles and the workforce. The stuxnet virus was released in june 2010 and has affected irans nuclear facilities in bushehr and natanz. The purpose of this document is to present a systemic analysis of the iranian national security strategy and to map the tools which serve to realize iran s ambitions for regional hegemony.
Irans cyber warfare program is now a major threat to the. The cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency cisa is. This is especially true given the united states is reliant on an inadequately guarded cyberspace and should anticipate that future u. Iranian officials appear determined to ensure that the regime maintains this edge and have prioritized boosting irans cyber capabilities in the wake of the nuclear deal. Iran s foreign and defense policies iran s national security policy is arguably the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of iran s islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, and longstanding national interests. The european union agency for cybersecurity enisa has been working to make europe cyber secure since 2004. It is a call to action for all americans and our great companies to take the necessary steps to. Available worldwide in paperback on amazon uk, usa, ca, ger, fra, in all good book stores, and via a free pdf download. Russia, china, iran, and north korea will pose the greatest cyber threats to the united states during the next year. Nov 24, 2015 iran watchers were able to gain insight into the regimes intentions and activities in cyberspace, however, during a june news interview with a senior military official tasked with managing irans cyber strategy, islamic revolutionary guards corps irgc brigadier general second class behrouz esbati. The us government has issued a security alert over the weekend, warning of possible acts of terrorism and cyberattacks that could be carried out by iran following the killing of a top general by. The national defense strategy acknowledges an increasingly complex global security environment, characterized by overt challenges to the free and open international order and the reemergence of longterm, strategic competition between nations. Irans strategy for advancing its own objectives clashes with americas strategy for advancing its interests, which. Feb 03, 2018 for example, in its national cyber security strategy, the us government policy is aimed at convincing a potential adversary that it will suffer unacceptable costs if it conducts an attack on the united states department of defense 2015, and the uk government, too, has spoken explicitly about the need to respond to cyber incidents with.
National security strategy ii the whole world is lifted by americas renewal and the reemergence of american leadership. As is the case with most states, iran does not have a comprehensive, published cyber strategysomething which iranian military leaders have lamented. The cyber threat from iran after the death of soleimani. For an in depth look at the islamic republic of irans concepts and doctrines of warfare, see. A prominent hacker group linked to the revolutionary guards is the ashiyane digital security team, whose members are motivated by an ideology supporting the iranian regime and the.
Jan 07, 2020 the us cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency cisa has also warned that iran has continuously improved its offensive cyber capabilities, going beyond ddos and website defacement, and. Guidelines for israels national security strategy gadi. Support to allied regimes and groups and use of terrorism iran uses support for armed factions as an instrument of policy. But the truth is that iran poses a challenge to vital u. Irans security policy in the postrevolutionary era rand. Irans network of fighters in the middle east arent.
Jan 06, 2020 the cyber warfare threat from iran shouldnt be dismissed. Syria, in particular, allowed iran to create pdf new groups from scratch to bolster the assad regime, while in yemen, iran strengthened its partnership with the houthis. Iran and cyber power center for strategic and international studies. Tensions are escalating between iran, the united states, and u. Evolving menace irans use of cyberenabled economic. It also describes activities currently being undertaken, or planned, to counter threats from foreign adversaries. Jan 18, 2016 but the truth is that iran poses a challenge to vital u. Instruments of irans national security strategy iran employs a number of different methods and mechanisms to implement its foreign policy. On december 31, 2015, russian president vladimir putin approved a new national security strategy for his country. In recent years, the main shift in israels security landscape stems from irans aspirations for regional hegemony. According to estimates, around 984 iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges were damaged by stuxnet. As a result, tehran operates with relative freedom and impunity across.
Iran itself has been a target of major foreign cyber intrusions most notably the 20092010 stuxnet attacks on its nuclear. This paper explores how the concept of tailored deterrence could be applied to iran in the cyber sphere. Russias 2015 national security strategy notes that in the struggle for influence. Today, irans nonstate network reportedly comprises about 200,000 fighters. Director of national intelligence recently concluded, iran is capable of causing localized, temporary disruptive. The agency works closely together with members states and other stakeholders to deliver advice and solutions as well as improving their cybersecurity capabilities. This piece will address one narrow element of the document. Section iv of this monograph discusses if and how iran will pursue structural changes for its military. The stuxnet virus was released in june 2010 and has affected iran s nuclear facilities in bushehr and natanz. Gholamreza jalali, the head of iran s passive defense organization, has interpreted stuxnet as the first official act of war in cyberspace. In the middle east, iran is competing with its neighbors, asserting an arc of.
The authors conclude that iraq is widely recognized as the leading threat to irans islamic regime and afghanistan is seen as an emerging threat. Because national security is seen as inextricably tied to economic and social development, the uae government has attempted to. With the release of this national cyber strategy, the united states now has its first fully articu. The united states department of justice recently announced the indictment of nine iranian citizens for actions related to cyberenabled theft of research, data, and intellectual property, a constant threat to both public and private interests. In a young century, opportunities for america abound, but risks to our security remain. Iranian cyber in america national security archive.
Irans network of fighters in the middle east arent always. Jan 20, 2020 and stealing information and presenting iran as a cyberthreat. Iran watchers were able to gain insight into the regimes intentions and activities in cyberspace, however, during a june news interview with a senior military official tasked with managing iran s cyber strategy, islamic revolutionary guards corps irgc brigadier general second class behrouz esbati. Building on the national security strategy and the admin. A better understanding of the history and strategic rationale of irans offensive cyber operations must inform u.
Gholamreza jalali, the head of irans passive defense organization, has interpreted stuxnet as the first official act of war in cyberspace. The countrys state sponsored hackers are capable of launching significant attacks on critical infrastructureand they may target. The us cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency cisa has also warned that iran has continuously improved its offensive cyber capabilities, going beyond ddos and website defacement, and. Conflicting sources indicate that the computer crimes law was adopted on 1 july 2009. Find out more about eirs range of open access books here. This issue brief draws on new academic research, sim. The cyber warfare threat from iran shouldnt be dismissed. The us spent the past four decades often befuddled by irans security policies. With the proliferation of information and communication technologies icts, cyber security has. What would a deterrence strategy that targets irans use of offensive cyber look like.
The national defense strategy acknowledges an increasingly complex global security environment. The use of outsourcing allows the revolutionary guards and iran to maintain distance and deniability about iran s involvement in cyberspace warfare and cyber crime. Iranian cyberattacks against saudi arabia in 2012 and 2017. It was claimed that the united states of america usa and israel secret services together have a role in the planning of this. Irans cyber military the iranian cyber army is said by some cybersecurity researchers to operate on behalf of irans islamic revolutionary guard corps, a branch of the countrys military. Cybersecurity in the 2017 national security strategy lawfare. National security strategy for 2020 and beyond james jay carafano, phd, luke coffey, nile gardiner, phd, walter lohman, ambassador terry miller, and thomas w.
The analysis outlines irans obligations under international human rights law, in particular the right to freedom of expression and freedom of information under the international covenant. These states are using cyber operations as a lowcost tool of statecraft, and we assess that they will work to use cyber operations to achieve strategic objectives unless they face clear repercussions for their cyber operations. It is a call to action for all americans and our great companies to take the necessary steps to enhance our national cybersecurity. Whether the aim is to give russia and the world a holiday gift or to avoid. The network is the cornerstone of iranian national security strategy. Guidelines for israels national security strategy the. Tensions in irans national security strategy reut institute. Building on the national security strategy and the administrations progress over its first 18 months, the.
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