Unknown hackers have disrupted gas stations in Iran on Tuesday, and defaced digital billboards showing the message “Khamenei, where is my fuel?” according to news reports and posts on social media.
It’s unclear who is behind the attack. But the methods and impact are reminiscent of a hack in July that paralyzed Iran’s train system. At the time, the hackers displayed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office phone number on displays, prompting passengers to send complaints to him.
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“Whoever did it, they had access for a long time,” Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher, told Motherboard in an online chat. “I believe this was a government attack and I think Israel could be behind it. Of course, we still need more information to have the correct judgement.”
Iranian state television reported that the government acknowledged the attack, according to the Associated Press. Iranian tech website ITIRIAN reported that the government’s National Cyberspace center confirmed the attack in a statement.
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“I have been waiting a couple of hours for the gas stations to reopen so that I can fill up,” a motorcyclist told the Associated Press. “There is no fuel wherever I go.”
Amir Nazemy, the deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Iran, wrote on Twitter that the country’s fuel station network is all a dedicated network, implying that it’s possible someone could infiltrate and take control of it all.
In August, hackers broke into the networks of the Evin prison in Iran, infamous for holding political prisoners often subjected to torture. At the time, the hackers took over the TV displays of the prison’s guards, displaying messages such as “cyberattack” and “General protest until the freedom of political prisoners.”
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