Iran hit by global cyber attack that left US flag on screens
DUBAI - Hackers have attacked networks in a number of countries including data centres in Iran where they left the image of a US flag on screens along with a warning "Don't mess with our elections," the Iranian IT ministry said on Saturday.
"The attack apparently affected 200,000 router switches across the world in a widespread attack, including 3,500 switches in our country," the Communication and Information Technology Ministry said in a statement carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA.
The statement said the attack, which hit internet service providers and cut off web access for subscribers, was made possible by a vulnerability in routers from Cisco which had earlier issued a warning and provided a patch that some firms had failed to install over the Iranian new year holiday.
Cisco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
