Iran is said to be closely behind Russia, US, China and Israel

Mar 8, 2014 15:46 GMT  ·  By

In a hearing on Iran’s support for terrorism worldwide before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, Pete Hoekstra revealed the fact that Russia was suspected of helping Iran develop its cyber capabilities.

Hoekstra, the former chairman of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has revealed that Iran’s cyber powers are ranked “closely behind” the ones of major players such as the US, Russia, China and Israel.

“As with many of its capabilities, Iran is not afraid to use them once they have them,” Hoekstra told lawmakers.

The official has also cited the Iranian Fars News Agency’s report about the country’s Armed forces being equipped with advanced technologies for the eventuality of cyber warfare.

Furthermore, Hoekstra has pointed to the relationship between Russia and Iran. He says it’s not surprising that the two are cooperating in the security sphere since both of them regard the US as a primary target.

“More relevant to today’s hearing is that Russia is largely suspected of helping Iran to develop its advanced cyber capability. Both Russia and Iran are reportedly providing arms to the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime as it builds up its death toll in the country’s civil war,” Hoekstra said.

In the past, the US often accused Iran of being behind cyberattacks. Many officials believe that the distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks launched against US financial institutions for many months by a hacktivist group called ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters were actually the work of Iran.

A transcript of Hoekstra's full statement is available on the website of the House of Representatives. You can also check out a video recording of the hearing.