Israel is prepared to prevent cyberattacks on the lines of nuclear deterrent

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister warned in assertive words, ‘Israel has made preparations to stop the cyberattacks on the lines of nuclear deterrents. If someone launched a cyberattack on Israel, we would retaliate on equal terms.’ A few hours ago, cyberattacks were launched on Iran’s most crucial steel factory. The company suffered major losses in the attack. It is claimed that the warning issued by the Israeli Prime Minister within hours of the attack is very suggestive.

Iranian Khuzestan Steel Company revealed that it was hit by a cyberattack. The biggest cyberattack carried out on Monday triggered a fire in this Iranian steel manufacturing company. This has brought the work in the Azwah factory to a standstill. The factory will remain closed till further notice. Iran had held the United States and Israel responsible for the cyberattacks carried out in the past. A leading US newspaper claimed that these cyberattacks are a part of the covert war between Iran and Israel. But Iran has not accused anyone of the Khuzestan Steel Company cyberattack. But the hacker group Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for the attack. At the same time, the group also published the CCTV footage of the fire sparked in the Iranian factory.

In the next few hours, while speaking at the Cyber Week conference organised in Israel, the Israeli Prime Minister warned about cyberattacks, directly mentioning Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a stern warning, ‘Israel does not have the policy to play havoc in the Iranian capital Tehran. But if Iran confronts Israel, it will have to pay a dear price.’ The Israeli Prime Minister warned there would be an equivalent retaliation against the Iranian cyberattacks.

Meanwhile, a covert cyberwar has started between Iran and Israel in the last few years. In 2010, the Iranian nuclear program was attacked with the Stuxnet virus. Hundreds of centrifuges in the Iranian nuclear projects had been rendered useless in the attack. Iran had blamed the United States and Israel for being responsible for the attack. At the same time, Israel had accused Iran of launching cyberattacks on its infrastructural facilities. In 2020, Iran launched a cyberattack on the Israeli water pipeline system. Israel claimed to have busted nearly 1,500 cyberattacks last year.