Classified Iranian documents allegedly by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps detail how cyber attacks could cause damage to civilian infrastructure in the West, according to a report published in Sky News Monday.
The documents, which are actually five different reports allegedly compiled by the IRGC’s cyber unit "Shahid Kavid", contain worrying information, including on how cyber attacks could be used against civilian infrastructure and systems, such as cargo ships and up gas stations.
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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and one of the leaked documents detailing a ship's ballast water systems
(Photo: Sky News, AFP)
Iran is “creating a target bank to be used whenever they see fit,” a security source familiar with the matter told Sky News.
The source added that the reports were compiled by Shahid Kavid’s Intelligence Group 13, led by an individual named Hamid Reza Lashga, and that two of the reports were dated to April 19, 2020 and November 19, 2020, while the others were not dated.
One of the Iranian documents said water filtration systems on cargo ships, as well as ballast water systems - found inside a ship’s hull for stability - could be targeted remotely via satellite to sink the ships. Sky News notes that document's authors seemed to rely on public information rather then confidential one.
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The documents contain worrying information on how cyber attacks could be used to attack civilian infrastructure
(Photo: Shutterstock)
Another one of the documents detailed how fueling pumps produced by Franklin Fueling Systems, a U.S. company, could be hacked to cause an explosion.
"They support many customers in Europe, Africa, America and the Middle East, and they control and manage these systems," the document stated.
A spokesperson for the company told Sky News it was doubtful if a third party could cause a fueling station to explode, citing ”redundant safety systems.”
Another document explains how systems that control of lighting, ventilation, heating and security systems in smart buildings might be exploited. The document further lists various relevant companies in the field, including companies from the United States, France and Germany.
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A leaked document detailing how fueling pumps produced by Franklin Fueling Systems work
(Photo: Sky News)
Other documents outline two forms of maritime satellite communications and detailed how electronic devices manufactured by German company WAGO worked.
Ben Wallace, the British Secretary of State for Defense , told Sky News that if the leaked documents were authentic, they would further highlight the dangers of cyberattacks against Britain and its allies in the West.
"Unless we do something about it our critical infrastructure, our way of life can be threatened quite easily," said Wallace.
Last year, Ynet exposed a failed attempt by Iran to attack Israel's water infrastructure, which in turn prompted a retaliatory cyber attack on Iran's Shahid Rajai port.
i24NEWS contributed to this article