Pasdaran continue to build up their cyber warfare capacity

Aware that it needs to tackle its rivals in the virtual world, particularly since being targeted by the Stuxnet computer worm and suffering an attack on its Natanz nuclear complex, supposedly led by Israel, Iran is engaged in a sustained effort to strengthen and better organise its cyber capacities. These now include several battalions of hackers, mostly recruited from the leading universities, including the Imam Hossein University, which is under Pasdaran control.

The Islamic Revolution People's Cyberspace Network is in effect Iran's electronic army. Led by Reza Salarvands from the Pasdaran cyber command, the front now looks to be a real third army alongside the Guardians of the Revolution and the regular army. Part of the army general staff's cyber defence command, itself part of the Supreme Cyberspace Council, it is headed by Gholam Reza Soleimani, an IT expert with the Bassij paramilitary volunteer force. It has a  number of different roles, including sabotage, espionage and so-called psyops (psychological operations). It gets help, moreover, directly from Moscow, which is also assisting the emerging Syrian cyber army and the Hezbollah cyber force which is developing apace in the organisation's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Specialised units

Iran's cyber force is composed of small specialised groups, each with its own specific role. Group 39 is responsible for hacking companies of interest, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. Group 35 concentrates on intelligence gathering on American personalities and institutions, while Group 34 works specifically on Saudi Arabia. Group 33 targets airlines and regional and international industrial regulatory bodies, particularly in South Korea.

Despite its efforts, Iran remains vulnerable to Israel's Unit 8200 which recently succeeded in paralysing 4300 Iranian petrol stations.