Iranian Army Stages Cyber Defense Drill

Deputy Chief of Iran's Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the drill, codenamed Fath-1 (Conquest-1), was aimed at boosting the Army’s cyber defense capabilities and practicing tactics to deal with cyber threats.

Cyber defense has now turned into the fifth dimension of the battlefield that plays a significant role in enhancing the Army’s combat power, he added.

The commander said the war game involved various tactics designed by the young servicemen, adding, “We had a lot of strong points in the drill and seek to develop them. God willing, we will minimize and bring down to zero the deficiencies in dealing with cyber threats with the war games we will stage soon.”

The general said the young Army officers have formed several hundred-strong cells on the platform of local and international systems to carry out cyber defense operations in the exercise.

In August 2020, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces warned that cyber threats from any state, group or individual against Iran will be responded to decisively.

The Iranian Armed Forces believe that the cyberattacks resulting in financial damages or harm to people amount to the use of force, it noted, warning, “If such operations affect the national vital infrastructures, including the defense infrastructures, they would naturally violate the principle of use of force, be it under the ownership of the government or the private sector.”

The statement also emphasized that the Iranian Armed Forces will reserve the right of self-defense if the intensity of a cyberattack on Iran’s vital infrastructures reaches the threshold of a conventional armed attack.