Just a day after a Ransomware attack was reported to have hit a Swiss Consumer Outlet, Comparis, the website of Iran’s transport ministry was taken down on Saturday by what state television said was a “cyber disruption”, a day after an apparent cyberattack on the state railway company.
Computer systems of the staff of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development were the subject of the attack which resulted in the ministry’s portal and sub-portal sites becoming unavailable, the TV channel reported.
According to a Reuters, it didn’t give any indication of who it believed could have been behind the attack and did not say if any ransom demand had been made.
Swiss online consumer outlet Comparis had filed a criminal complaint on Friday, over a ransomware attack on Wednesday that blocked some of its information technology systems.
“As far as we know, most databases do not seem to be affected by the incident. Unfortunately, first detailed analyses suggest that the perpetrators had access to certain customer-relevant data of sister company Credaris, whose systems are partly operated in the same server environment,” it said.
Comparis said its website, which lets consumers compare prices for goods and services, was working normally again, but access via e-mail and customer hotline may still be limited as it works with cybersecurity specialists on a complete recovery.
It did not comment on whether the incident was linked to a ransomware attack centred on the Florida information technology firm Kaseya that scrambled the data of hundreds of small businesses worldwide. REvil, a prolific, Russia-linked cybercrime syndicate, took credit for the breach.
Train services had been disrupted on Friday, with hackers posting fake delay notices on station boards, state-affiliated news outlets reported. The government-run railway company said only the displays had been affected and that trains ran normally.
Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi warned on Saturday of possible ransomware attacks unless vulnerabilities in computer systems were dealt with, Iranian news outlets reported.
In late 2020, Iran said hackers launched large-scale attacks on two of its government institutions, without giving details on the targets or the suspected perpetrators.
Iran says it is on high alert for online assaults, which it has blamed in the past on the United States and Israel. The United States and other Western powers meanwhile have accused Iran of trying to disrupt and break into their networks.