Iranian Spy Ship Hacked

Uploaded on 2024-03-06 in FREE TO VIEW

The United States has recently conducted a hack on the computer systems of an Iranian military ship that had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Naval analysts believe that the ship has served as a staging point and command post for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' operations in Yemen.

Iran is the primary foreign sponsor of Yemen's Houthi rebel group, supplying the group with them with ballistic missiles, air defence systems and suicide drones.

The US Navy and US Coast Guard have repeatedly intercepted shipments of advanced Iranian armaments bound for Yemen. The cyber attack was part of the US response to the drone attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that killed three US service members in Jordan and wounded dozens of others recently.

The operation was intended to inhibit the Iranian ship’s ability to share intelligence with Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been firing missiles and drones at cargo ships in the Red Sea, the officials said. US officials say Iran uses the ship to provide targeting information to the Houthis so their attacks on the ships can be more effective. Over 10% of global shipping passes through the Red Sea every day

US analysts had suspected for weeks that the ship, the MV Behshad, was operating near the African port of Djibouti, which lies across a strait from Yemen, to spy on nearby ships and pass that information to Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have been firing missiles and drones at vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Iranian officials have denied the allegations. Houthi leaders have vowed to continue the attacks until Israel halts its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The US has likely used cyber warfare capabilities to target Iran before. The infamous Stuxnet worm was perhaps the first major nation-state cyber attack, and it reportedly set back operations in Iran's uranium enrichment program by targeting industrial control systems. The attack has never been officially acknowledged.

The Maritime Executive | FDD | Yahoo |

Image: Ismail Saidi

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