Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer and CEO of Fortalice Solutions, told Fox News that Iran could use cyberattacks against the United States and Israel as it becomes more desperate in the ongoing conflict with Israel. She said:
I think everything's on the table right now as it relates to Iran, especially if they are running out of weaponry and missiles. They could resort to cyber incidents and cyberattacks...So we could see Iran strike everything from everyday citizens to U.S. elected officials, media outlets, as well as critical infrastructure.
Iran has a history of launching cyber attacks against the U.S. targeting critical infrastructure sectors, including water utilities, energy grids, hospitals, and financial institutions.
In 2016, seven people linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were indicted for launching a denial of service, or DoS, attacks on the websites for Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The attack spanned forty-six different countries and prevented customers from logging into their accounts, costing tens of millions of dollars.
In 2022, Iranian nationals were indicted for attempting to launch a cyber attack against Boston Children's Hospital.
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Payton argued that since Iran has an extensive track record of cyber attacks, the possibility and perceived threat should be taken seriously.
Iran is not faring well in its conflict with Israel and has struggled to mount an effective defense against the Israeli Defense Forces. The IDF has killed much of the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and maintains complete air dominance and control in Iranian airspace. With threats from both President Trump and the Israelis towards the Supreme Leader of Iran, the regime finds itself cornered and willing to engage in any sort of attack to try and gain leverage. Whether or not that is achievable at this point is unlikely.
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