THIS ISN’T THE FIRST CYBER STIEK STRIKE BETWEEN THE TWO
COUNTRIES.
COUNTRIES. ARE WE IN A CYBER WAR WITH IRAN?
>> THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
WITHDREW FROM THE IRAN NUCLEAR
DEAL, TENSIONS WITH IRAN HAVE
ESCALATED.
ESCALATED. BACK IN JUNE IRAN SHOT DOWN AN
UNMANNED U.S. DRONE.
THERE WAS SOME DEBATE WHETHER
THAT DRONE WAS IN INTERNATIONAL
AIR SPACE.
AIR SPACE. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID HE ORDERED
A RETALIATORY STRIKE BUT THEN
CALLED IT OFF, SAYING THE LOSS
OF LIFE WOULD BE
DISPROPORTIONATE.
DISPROPORTIONATE. INSTEAD HE WENT WITH A CYBER
ATTACK.
ATTACK. THE U.S. CYBER COMMAND LAUNCHED
AN OFFENSIVE CYBER ATTACK ON
IRAN’S ROCKET CONTROL SYSTEM.
THAT COMES AFTER REPORTS THAT
HACKERS BELIEVED TO BE WORKING
FOR THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT HAD
BEEN TARGETING U.S. GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES.
AGENCIES. >> WE DID THE NUCLEAR TREATY
WITH IRAN.
WITH IRAN. WE SAW A VERY BIG DIP IN
ACTIVITY WHEN IT CAME FROM IRAN
AT TANGTACKING OUR INFRASTRUCTUR
OUR GRID.
OUR GRID. THEY’RE DEFINITELY TRYING TO HIT
US AT HOME.
>> HOW CANLONG HAVE THESE ATTACK
BEEN GOING ON FOR AND IF IRAN IS
HACKING INTO THE U.S., WHERE DO
THE ATTACKS FALL ON THE SPECTRUM
OF TENSIONS BETWEEN THE TWO
COUNTRIES?
COUNTRIES? ARE WE IN A CYBER WAR WITH IRAN?
>> I DON’T THINK YOU CAN SAY
THAT JUST YET.
WE ARE AT A POINT NOW WHERE WE
HAVEN’T SEEN THIS LEVEL OF BACK
AND FORTH EVER WHEN IT COMES TO
IRAN AND THE UNITED STATES.
WE HAVE TO BE REALLY CAREFUL
WITH HOW WE LEVERAGE CYBER
CAPABILITIES IN THIS CASE NOT TO
GO OVERBOARD.
GO OVERBOARD. >> HAS THIS BEEN THE FIRST TIME
THE U.S. AND IRAN HAVE GONE BACK
AND FORTH ON CYBER WARFARE?
>> THEY’VE GONE BACK AND FORTH
QUITE A BIT OVER THE PAST FEW
YEARS.
YEARS. THEY’VE SHUT THEMSELVES DOWN
FROM THE GLOBAL INTERNET SO IT’S
ACTUALLY MORE DIFFICULT FORTOUS
HACK INTO
HACK INTO FOR US TO HACK INTO THEM.
ESSENTIALLY CREATE MALICIOUS
SOFTWARE THAT WENT INTO THESE
RESEARCH FACILITIES AND CAUSED
MISREADINGS TO OCCUR.
IT WAS AN AMAZING VICTORY FOR US
BECAUSE WE LITERALLY SET THEIR
PROGRAM BACK SEVERAL YEARS OF
RESEARCH.
RESEARCH. THAT DOESN’T REALLY STIFLE THE
GROWTH OF RESEARCH THAT IRAN WAS
CONDUCTING WHEN IT CAMS TOOMES T
NUCLEAR MISSILE TESTING.
>> THE ISIS THE LINE BETWEEN CYB
WARFARE AND KINETIC WARFARE
BLURRING?
BLURRING? >> IT’S BLURRING.
IN THE EVENT THIS GOES TO A FULL
BLOWN WAR, I THINK YOU’LL
DEFINITELY SEE SOME MAJOR
ATTACKS HAPPEN FROM A CYBER
PERSPECTIVE FROM IRAN TO US THAT
WE HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE AND THAT
WE’RE PROBABLY PRETTY UNPREPARED
TO HANDLE.
TO HANDLE. >> WHAT DOES THE ESCALATION IN
CYBER WARFARE MEAN FOR THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRAN AND
THE U.S. AND THE REGION AS A
WHOLE?
WHOLE? >> THIS IS JOHN.
>> I SPOKE WITH JOHN BATEMAN WHO
USED TO BE THE DIRECTOR FOR
CYBER STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION IN
THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE.
DEFENSE. IS THIS SOMETHING THE PUBLIC
SHOULD CONSIDER AS AN ACT OF
WAR?
WAR? >> THE LINE BETWEEN PEACE AND
WAR IN CYBERSPACE IS UNCLEAR.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT YOU
HAVE TO CONSIDER THIS OPERATION
WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE TIT
FOR TAT BETWEEN IRAN AND THE
UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES. IRAN HAS ALREADY ADMITTED TO
SHOOTING DOWN A U.S. DRONE.
SO IN THIS CONTEXT THE U.S.
WOULD HAVE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO
STRIKE BACK AT THOSE SYSTEMS
THAT HAD BEEN USED TO TARGET
U.S. FORCES.
U.S. FORCES. >> HOW DID THESE EVENTS IMPACT
GEOPOLITICALLY THE REGION AS A
WHOLE, DO YOU THINK?
>> IN THE LONG RUN, IT’S NOT IN
THE REGION’S INTEREST FOR
TENSIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND
IRAN TO PERSIST AT THIS
HEIGHTENED STAGE.
HEIGHTENED STAGE. WE CAN LOOK BACK TO A SIMILAR
PERIOD BETWEEN 2010 AND 2012
WHEN U.S. AND IRANIAN TENSIONS
WERE REALLY HIGH UNDER THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. THOSE TENSIONS EVENTUALLY LED TO
THE NUCLEAR DEAL BUT IT’S NOT
CLEAR THAT THE CONDITIONS FOR
THAT EXIST TODAY, BECAUSE
IRANIAN POLITICS LEAVE MUCH LESS
ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION WITH THE
UNITED STATES A SECOND TIME
AROUND.
AROUND. SO WE CAN EXPECT FURTHER CRISES
TO POP UP AS THE U.S. CONTINUES
TO TIGHTEN SANCTIONS ON IRAN AND
IRAN CONTINUES TO EXPLORE TAKING
STEPS TO MOVE BEYOND THE NUCLEAR