According to AP's report, one of Iran's largest steel producers has become a victim of a cyberattack, forcing the company to stop its production on Monday.
The incident is reportedly one of the largest attacks on the nation's critical industrial sector.
An Iranian construction worker gestures to another while standing on a steel I-beam at a site for a future bank tower in the Iraqi capital Baghdad's central Abu Nawas street on June 28, 2018.
Suspended Operations
Due to the technical issues brought on by the cyberattacks, the government-owned Khouzestan Steel Company, whose website was unavailable on Monday, announced that the facility must suspend operations until further notice.
Amin Ebrahimi, the CEO of the business, asserted that Khuzestan Steel could stop the cyberattack and avoid internal damage to manufacturing lines, which would have affected their supply chains and clients.
AP's report notes that the semi-official Mehr news agency said that the company's website is likely to return to regular operations at the end of Monday.
According to a local news station, Jamaran, the attempt was unsuccessful since the factory was not operating at the time because of an electricity interruption.
The attack, which is the most recent instance of an assault on the nation's services that has upset authorities in previous weeks, was not attributed by the state-owned company to any group.
It is worth noting that a similar event occurred last year when a cyberattack on Iran's fuel supply halted gas stations all around the nation, resulting in long lineups of customers.
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Other Cyberattacks
According to AP, fake delay warnings have also been seen at Iranian train stations. The nation's surveillance cameras have been compromised, and government websites have been interfered with.
Iran has previously blamed the US and Israel for conducting cyberattacks that severely damaged their infrastructure. However, it must be noted that Iran never accused the two countries of the recent cyberattack.
The Stuxnet computer virus, which is reported to have been created jointly by the US and Israel, destroyed thousands of Iranian centrifuges at the country's nuclear plants in the late 2000s.
AP noted that the Khuzestan Steel Company and two other significant government businesses own the exclusive right to produce steel in Iran. It is headquartered in Ahvaz in the oil-rich Khuzestan province in the southwest of the country.
The company was established prior to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, and many years later, some production lines were provided by foreign firms from Italy, Japan, and Germany.
But the company has had to lessen its reliance on foreign components as a result of harsh sanctions imposed on Iran because of its nuclear program.
Iran's steel industry is significant for the country's growth since it is the leading steel producer in the Middle East and one of the top 10 steel-producing countries in the world, according to the World Steel Association.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
