US Cyber Attack Damaged Iran’s Ability to Target Oil Tankers

American officials say that a database used by Iran’s paramilitary arm to devise attacks against oil tankers was wiped out by a US cyber attack in June, temporarily reducing Tehran’s means of targeting Persian Gulf shipping traffic, according to a report of New   York  Times.

Iran is trying to bring military communications networks back online and recover information lost in the attack against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Times said.  The targeted database was reportedly used by the Revolutionary Guards to plan attacks in the Persian Gulf.

The attack was in response to Iran shooting down a US surveillance drone it said was violating Iranian airspace, the Times reported.

US officials said there has been no escalation from Iran as a result of these attacks. There have been no attacks against tankers in the region since the June 20 American cyber-attack.

Instead of a traditional “kinetic attack” such as a missile, a cyber-attack is seen as “below the threshold” of war and can in theory avoid escalation that other attacks can provoke.