ARTICLE · 13 FEBRUARY 2020

Don't Assume Iran Will Be Behind The Next Big Cyber Attack

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

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Americans have become fixated on the possibility of Iran launching deadly attacks in retaliation for President Donald Trump's decision to kill Quds force leader Qassem Soleimani.

GlobalGovernment, Public Sector

Americans have become fixated on the possibility of Iran launching deadly attacks in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Quds force leader Qassem Soleimani. Such fears are grounded in reality, as Iran has a long track record of lashing out after being struck by the American military.

What gives this latest round of tit for tat a decidedly 21^st century spin is the specter that Iran will unleash its cyber arsenal as part of any retribution. Iran has both verifiably formidable cyberwarfare assets and a history of using them, so Americans are right to be concerned.

Recent events though raise another, perhaps even more insidious scenario: that America’s other enemies will use this latest flare up as an opportunity to launch false flag cyberattacks. America’s global rivals have in fact been practicing that kind of cyber campaign, and so Washington needs to be careful before assuming that the next big cyberattack is the work of a vengeful Tehran.

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