When American and Israeli agents launched a Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran's nuclear program, spies, engineers, and hackers thought they could seriously damage Iran's ability to produce enriched uranium and slow its nuclear program without firing a single shot or losing lives.

But soon Iran returned to the development of its nuclear program to become more capable.

Before the emergence of the "Stuxnet" virus, the writer Borzou Daragahi said - in a report published by the British newspaper "The Independent" - that cyber-attacks were seen as harassment or criminal behavior and were used to spy on companies or between governments.

And the global cybersecurity industry was only a few billion dollars.

Over the next five years, it is expected to be worth more than $210 billion.

The writer believes that electronic warfare has become part of the national security strategy of many countries, as an essential tool for espionage, intelligence, sabotage and theft.

Currently, each country seeks to strengthen its cyber defenses and offensive capabilities.

Experts believe that both Russia and China possess enormous capabilities in electronic warfare, but the real concern is diplomatically isolated countries such as Iran, especially North Korea, because they have nothing to lose.


“North Korea is a unique country in that it constantly focuses heavily on financial and business operations,” says Sherrod de Gribeau, an information security specialist at cybersecurity firm Proof Point.

Among its primary goals are the exchange of cryptocurrencies and trying to collect their usernames and passwords for theft operations, to alleviate the impact of international sanctions that have affected it because of its nuclear program and aggressive behavior.

regular attacks

A report by Proofpoint said a group suspected of being backed by North Korea has been carrying out regular attacks targeting diplomats, politicians, journalists and non-profit organizations across Europe, Asia and North America.

According to the company, hackers are now using malware that infiltrates IT systems and collects data instead of old phishing attempts, which lure victims into putting in their password or username.

De Gribo warns that malware is spreading almost everywhere, which means that everyone working in sensitive areas such as media, finance and foreign policy should be careful.

They explain that malware can infiltrate through email, social media sites and phone calls.

But it seems we can't prevent hacks from happening.


Kevin Mandia, CEO of cybersecurity firm Mandiant, warned that Iran's cyber capabilities have expanded beyond the capacity of the West to counter it.

In a statement to CNBC, he said, "Iran has a framework that enables it to update malware very quickly and make it effective and able to bypass our defenses."

Many are currently concerned about the cycle of escalation that has already begun and cannot be reversed, with countries trying to outdo each other in the cyber arms race.

Weeks after Israel was accused in October of launching a cyberattack on Iranian gas stations, Tehran responded by hacking into Israeli dating and healthcare websites and publishing some sensitive information.

The Center for Security and International Studies' 62-page list of the most notable cyber attacks since 2006 showed suspected hackers from Brazil, China, Russia and Israel.

Among the targets of these attacks were ethnic minorities such as the Kurds, activists demanding free elections in Russia, small businesses and oil companies.

The writer Daragahi believes that it may be time for a global treaty that regulates the use of electronic weapons and prevents their misuse in the same way that the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons is regulated.