In a move that suggests the incendiary impact of malicious software, Iran has now publicly threatened the United States over the Flame malware incident that has gained worldwide attention in recent days.
Flame has been dubbed the “utlimate spy” and for good reason. Iran was the country hit the hardest by the state-of-the-art piece of malware.
This most recent cyber incident, according to various sources, collected untold amounts of intelligence during its 20+ month span of operations and there are unsubstantiated reports that Flame has been active for as long as five years.
The threat is not restricted to a retaliatory strike using cyber weapons; conventional kinetic weapons could be part of the equation as well.
There are multiple reports that Iran has openly threatened to attack U.S. bases in the region with missiles attacks.
Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards has openly stated that it would fire missiles at all enemy bases in the region if the country is attacked. It now appears that the Iranian leadership believes it is already under attack.
It has been established that in December 2011 Iranian intelligence organizations developed a detailed assessment of U.S. bases in the Middle East and how they could be attacked with Iran’s missiles. The report specifically mentions bases in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain.
In recent weeks Iran has experienced their natural gas pipeline explode, their main oil export facility disrupted and now the significant Flame espionage incident – all attributed to advanced cyber attacks.
All this has taken place while the memories of the Stuxnet cyber attack that was disclosed by Iran back in 2010 is still an open sore with Iranian leadership and their military. All of this taking place in the shadow of failed nuclear talks that took place May 23 in Iraq.
It is also known that in August 2011 the Kayhan newspaper that is heavily under the influence of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, disclosed that Iran is planning to retaliate against the United States for the sabotage against its nuclear program.
It is clear tensions are escalating due to the recent cyber incidents as well as the sanctions that have been put in place and the failed nuclear talks haven’t helped.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has publicly stated that cyber attacks against the Islamic Republic have been launched by hostile governments as part of a broader soft war.
Has Iran talked itself into a corner? Will they treat cyber attacks as they would physical attacks? Things are coming to a head for sure, but where, when and how the first exchange takes place is anyone’s guess.
Kevin G. Coleman is a long-time security technology executive and former Chief Strategist at Netscape. He is Senior Fellow with the Technolytics Institute where he provides consulting services on strategic technology and security issues. He writes a weekly blog for Breaking Gov on the topic of cyber intelligence.