Seven to eight US drones were reportedly hacked by Iranian forces. Brigadier General Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Pasdaran Army's Aerospace Force, said he entered an American drone command and control center. The Revolutionary Guards would thus have directly collected the information collected by these drones over the Syrian-Iraqi zone. The Pentagon says it has nothing to add at this time. Images taken by these drones have been released by the Iranian military. We see in particular an MQ-9 Reaper on the ground then hit by an air strike. No doubt to prevent its technology from being recovered or serving as a trophy.
The story repeats itself. Already in December 2011, an American stealth drone (RQ-170 Sentinel) from Lockheed Martin was hacked by Iranian cyber forces near Kashmar. The Iranian government announced that it had successfully landed the drone without destroying it. Barack Obama then acknowledged the capture of the drone without confirming the authenticity of the images published by Iranian forces.
The incident comes as the Iranian navy has just concluded a massive naval exercise “Vélayat 97” in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities have repeatedly threatened to block oil exports from the Persian Gulf in response to US sanctions. The exploitation of this computer breach allows the Mullah regime to complete its show of force with conventional weapons and to position itself as a regional competitor. The cyber tool is confirmed, also in the Gulf region, as a real tool of power.
Iran is no stranger to cyber news. In 2010, it was the target of one of the world's largest cyberattacks. The Stuxnet virus, developed by the United States and Israel, infected more than 200 computer stations and delayed the Iranian nuclear program by 000 to 1 years. 2 years later, Iran has learned from its mistakes and nurtured an ambition which could definitively weigh on regional balances and represent a serious threat on a global scale. A fact often overlooked... and yet nothing very surprising for a regime which wishes to maintain control over information and protect itself from external influences.
Thibaud Mattei