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A cyberattack led the Iranian state-owned Khuzestan Steel Company, one of the major steel companies owned by the Iranian government, to halt production. This appears to be one of the biggest attacks on the country’s strategic industrial sector in recent memory.
Khuzestan Steel Company has a monopoly on steel production in Iran along with two other major state-owned firms. The company was compelled to suspend operations in order to prevent damage to the production lines and disruption to the supply chains to which it belongs.
According to the Iranian news channels, the attempt was unsuccessful since the plant’s activities were halted at the time due to an energy outage.
The CEO of the company said:
“Fortunately with time and awareness, the attack was unsuccessful,”
An anonymous hacking group, named Gonjeshke Darande, claimed responsibility for the social media attack, saying it targeted Iran’s three largest steel companies in response to the Islamic Republic’s aggression.
Several cyberattacks have targeted Iranian infrastructure in recent years. One attack disrupted gas stations operated by the state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) throughout Iran. The Iranian railroad system was also targeted by a cyberattack, with threat actors spreading false information about delays or cancellations of the trains.