- Iran blames US for network shutdown
- The fault lies with the rear doors pre-installed in American technology
- Iran remains dependent on the import of foreign technology
Iranian media has accused US technology companies and the US government of working together to install secret backdoors into networking infrastructure.
The claim comes after Iran reported coordinated shutdowns and outages to its network hardware despite the government disconnecting the country from the Internet.
If true, the backdoor would have to be activated remotely using some other means, which Iran says could involve a satellite network.
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General network shutdown
Iran’s claims, shared by Iran’s Fars news agency, allege that hardware made by companies such as Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet and MikroTik were subject to coordinated and unexplained shutdowns and restarts, with the implication that the companies have installed secret backdoors on behalf of the US government.
This is not the first time an accusation of this type has been made. China has previously accused the US government of installing backdoors in chips and other technologies that are likely to be imported to China. China also previously accused the US government of plots involving pre-installed malware and of being behind multiple attacks launched by Volt Typhoon.
Iran’s claims, while unsubstantiated, mirror those of China, and Chinese state media also widely share Iran’s theories. Iran has also suggested that some devices may have been involved in a botnet that caused widespread outages.
Verifying such claims is difficult as Iran has maintained a near-total internet blackout since the conflict erupted in late February. Internet access has been highly selective, with some outage trackers suggesting that the Iranian government only grants Internet access to government officials and pro-regime groups.
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