Alleged Cyberattack Creates “Unprecedented Chaos” For Iran’s National Rail Network

Iranian state TV on Friday afternoon (local time) reported “unprecedented chaos” at train stations across the country, leading to cancelations, immense delays and confusion impacting hundreds of lines after what’s being reported as a potential cyber attack.

Reuters reports as evidence of a hack that a phone number for the Ayatollah’s office was posed in place of a national train services hotline: “Train services in Iran were delayed by apparent cyberattacks on Friday, with hackers posting the phone number of the country’s supreme leader as the number to call for information, state-affiliated news outlets reported.”

Fars News reports that hundreds of trains in #Iran have suddenly been cancelled today, speculating about a cyber attack on railway computer systems. pic.twitter.com/6eSiWTpfgu

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 9, 2021

State-run Fars News initially reported “Long delays due to cyberattacks,” but provided little in the way of further confirmation.

Further details are being reported in Bloomberg as follows:

Departure notice boards showed blanket cancellations and carried the message “long delay following cyber attack,” the national broadcaster said, adding that the disruption to Islamic Republic of Iran Railways’ computer systems also affected station entrances and exits as well as ticket booths.

The national rail company’s website, www.rai.ir, wasn’t loading as of 7.50 p.m. in Tehran. Iranian state TV didn’t say where it got the information.

#Iran; hundreds of trains have been delayed or cancelled, the websites of the Iranian Railways Compony, ticket sale agents, luggage control systems are down. The arrival-departure board says the disruptions are the result of cyberattacks. #Israel ?? pic.twitter.com/hcwyy4dTAy

— Fereshteh Sadeghi فرشته صادقی (@fresh_sadegh) July 9, 2021

Iranian officials have in the recent past blamed Israel and the United States for frequent cyberattacks on national infrastructure, in addition to the latest ‘sabotage’ incidents on nuclear and oil sites, often blamed on Israeli intelligence. 

The Islamic Republic’s national transportation network has further struggled over the past years of Trump-era sanctions against multiple major industries, leading to decaying infrastructure.