TEHRAN, June 3 (UPI) —
Any threats regarding cyberattacks are kept at bay because of close monitoring by security officials, a defense official at Iran’s Oil Ministry said Tuesday.
Vahid Reza Zeidifar, a civil defense administrator at Iran’s Oil Ministry, said cyberthreats are under close scrutiny.
"Our colleagues in all sections of the Oil Ministry are obligated to safeguard the security of systems against cyber threats," he said.
A cyberattack dubbed "Viper" hit the Iranian energy sector in 2012. The government in response to the attack was forced to disconnect key oil facilities, including control systems at the terminal on Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf that handles 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports.
A report last year from U.S. technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton said as much as 90 percent of computers worldwide with intellectual, monetary or strategic value are infected with undetected malicious software, or malware.
"We face no problem with regards to cyber threats and all these affairs are being monitored at the Oil Ministry," Zeidifar said.