TEHRAN

- In the biggest cyberattack on Iran, on Tuesday, all of the country's nearly 4,300 gas stations were out of service, causing long queues in the early hours of the attack.

The attackers also breached billboards in some cities, including Isfahan and Karaj near Tehran.

A number of gas stations have returned to work over time and the efforts of specialists, but a number of stations are still out of service so far.

Al-Jazeera Net in Tehran closely monitored the work of gas stations in different areas of the capital. At Gas Station No. 217 south of Tehran, the driver could fill his car with free fuel only (not subsidized by the government), without contacting the electronic system that was out of service, and it was written, “Done tampering with the system.

The electronic system is still not working in some gas stations (Al-Jazeera)

The Al Jazeera team moved from southern Tehran to the Gisha gas station in the center of the capital, and although people did not get cheap (subsidized) gasoline, there was no change in the usual car movement, and the team had to wait a long time in Tehran's traffic.

At the same station, gasoline was provided at a free price, noting that the fuel card system is still not active to use the government quota.

At the "Resalat" gas station, east of Tehran, the situation was the same in the south and center of the capital, and there was no problem in providing gasoline, but the people were forced to buy it at a price that was not subsidized by the government.

As of yesterday night, according to the CEO of the National Iranian Company for the Distribution of Petroleum Products, Karamat Weis Karmi, 2,950 stations operate without using the smart system and a fuel card, and more than 450 stations are currently working with the smart system (to use fuel cards and obtain fuel at subsidized prices).


Fuel card and protests

Since 2007, in order to prevent gasoline smuggling as well as help the underprivileged, the Iranian government has required all drivers to use fuel cards to obtain it at subsidized prices.

This situation has continued to this day, and now each car can get 60 liters, and each motorcycle has 25 liters per month of gasoline at a price of 15,000 riyals, and the price of gasoline will rise to 30 thousand riyals (approximately $0.11) if the beneficiary wants to get more than this. Quantity.

In November 2019, the government raised the price of gasoline by 200% from 10 thousand riyals to 30 thousand riyals (not subsidized) and by 50% to 15,000 riyals (subsidized by the state), and this led to protests in the capital and other cities in Iran, which resulted in A number of protesters were killed and arrested, and the number of protesters killed has not yet been announced.

According to the slogans written on billboards hacked in cities, this cyber attack appears to be in line with the second anniversary of the protests.

Gasoline is currently being purchased at a free price that is not subsidized by the government (Al-Jazeera)

Cyber ​​attack losses

Security expert and member of the Institute of Defense and National Security, Dr. Sajjad Abedi, says that the recent cyber attack allowed hackers to gain access to billboards and the fuel card system, and it is difficult to judge the direct effects of this incident.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Abdi explained that it is not possible to calculate the losses accurately and clearly because the cyber attack usually does not work like a bomb that causes immediate and measurable damage.

He added that the hack was carried out by a state (he did not name it), not a specific individual or group, and that the attack took advantage of the programs of a trusted party located inside Iranian territory, and that the extent of the damage is unknown.

Car traffic is normal at the capital's gas stations (the island)

Who is behind the attack?

"A foreign country could be behind this attack, as the country witnessed such an attack on its railway systems in previous months and the damages were dealt with in a short time," said Abolhassan Firouzabadi, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace.

Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali, head of the Civil Defense Organization, said, "A cyber attack on the electronic refueling system has not been confirmed, and this is one of the possibilities."

On the other hand, an electronic group calling itself the "predatory sparrow" claimed responsibility for the attacks on gas stations in the country.

The group wrote, in a message to some Persian media outside the country, that it noticed a significant weakness in the country's infrastructure during the planning of the cyber attack, which could cause long-term damage and more damage to gas stations, but, according to the group, decided not to cause more damage.

The group also claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on the Ministry of Roads and Rail Infrastructure a few months ago.

There is no accurate information about this group, and experts have not yet confirmed the authenticity of these statements, but it seems that one of the goals of the hackers’ attack on the country’s fuel system is to protest the government’s treatment of the November 2019 protesters and the killing and arrest of young people in that period.

According to Abadi, the servers and information, nor the people's quota information has not been damaged in any way, and subsidized gasoline rations are available to everyone.