Tehran: Iran has repelled a fresh cyber attack on its industrial units in a southern province, a local civil defence official said yesterday, accusing “enemies” of nonstop attacks against its infrastructure.
“A virus had penetrated some manufacturing industries in Hormuzgan province, but its progress was halted with ... the cooperation of skilled hackers,” Ali Akbar Akhavan said, quoted by the Isna news agency.
Akhavan said the malware was “Stuxnet-like” but did not elaborate and that the attack had occurred over the “past few months.”
Stuxnet, tailored specifically to target Iran’s uranium enrichment operation, struck Iran in 2010 and reportedly dealt a serious blow to its disputed atomic programme.
Akhavan said one of the targets of the latest foiled attack was the Bandar Abbas Tavanir Co, which oversees electricity production and distribution in Hormuzgan and adjacent provinces.
He also accused “enemies” of constantly seeking to disrupt operations at Iran’s industrial units through cyber attacks, without specifying how much damage had been caused.
Iran gives Russian women technicians hijab payment: MP
TEHRAN: Iran is paying Russian women working as technicians at its sole nuclear power plant to adhere to the Islamic dress code, an Iranian lawmaker told the Isna news agency yesterday.
Women in Iran, regardless of their nationality or religion, are required to cover their hair and much of the body. Those who do not abide by the rule - known as hijab - may face arrest or other punishment.
“Based on contracts signed with female Russian employees at the Bushehr (nuclear) power plant, they receive a hijab payment,” MP Mehdi Mousavinejad, who represents a constituency in southern Bushehr province, told Isna. “Unfortunately, they do not properly observe what is (asked of them), which is mentioned in the contracts,” he said, while criticising authorities for a lax oversight on Russians working at the plant.
Mousavinejad also called on Russians to fulfil their “commitments”. “When one party accepts to pay an amount for a commitment, it is important for the other party to fulfil its commitments,” he said.AFP
