Official Raps Cyber-Attacks on Venues of Iran Nuclear Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization criticized the counties that have hosted negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program for their failure to ensure cyber security after revelations of cyber-attacks on the hotels hosting the talks.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Saturday, General Gholam Reza Jalali chided the countries hosting Iran nuclear talks for lack of security measures that made them easy targets for cyber-attacks, without directly naming Austria and Switzerland.
The host countries should have acted on the basis of "diplomatic norms" to ensure full security at the venue of the talks, the general added.
His comments came after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday that a computer virus, widely used by Israeli spies, had attacked the hotels hosting nuclear talks between Iran and six powers.
Russian-based Cybersecurity Company Kaspersky said on Wednesday that the malware dubbed Duqu, a sophisticated spy tool that was believed to have been eradicated in 2012, appeared to have been used to spy on the talks on Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Iran's embassies in Vienna and Bern have sent separate official written messages to the foreign ministries of Austria and Switzerland, expressing Tehran's serious concern about reports of cyber-attacks on the hotels hosting the nuclear talks.
Switzerland and Austria have begun investigating the allegations of spying at the negotiations.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to hammer out a lasting agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.
They have held several rounds of talks in recent months, mostly at luxury hotels in Vienna and the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne.
