NYT Opinion: Iran Is Losing the Cyberwar, Not the Real War

SCP Associate Professor Jon Lindsay penned an opinion piece in The New York Times on Saturday about Iran's cyber capabilities.

The Iranian hacker group Handala last month breached the networks of Stryker, a medical technology company based in Michigan, wiping data and disabling thousands of devices, including some used by emergency workers. On its website, Handala boasted that the attack was “only the beginning of a new era of cyberwarfare.”

But this new era looks a lot like the old one. Despite hype about a digital Pearl Harbor attack or a cyber-9/11, the reality of cybersecurity is prosaic. Iran has carried out cybercrime, digital propaganda and minor disruptions, which are normal features of conflicts these days. Despite reports of Iran coordinating malware and disinformation with missile strikes, it has not yet inflicted serious damage via cyberwarfare alone. Much as Russia’s cyberarsenal was overestimated before the invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s cyberattacks have been underwhelming so far.