Due to some kind of “software glitch” (which experts consider to be a cyberattack), gas stations throughout Iran were disrupted this week. In addition, screens at filling terminals and billboards with gas prices ceased to work.
The incident affected the network of the state-owned gas distribution company NIOPDC , which operates more than 3,500 gas stations across the country. According to local media reports ( 1 , 2 , 3 ), as well as numerous posts on social networks, as a result of the attack, the message “cyebrattack 64411” was displayed on the screens of NIOPDC gas stations.
Price billboards in major cities also displayed the message “cyebrattack 64411” as well as the phrase “Khamenei, where’s the gas?” and “Free gas at [name of local gas station].”
It is worth mentioning that 64411 is a telephone number belonging to the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This number has already been used during another hacker attack this summer, when attackers attacked the country’s railway system and invited the victims to call this number.
Although the gas stations themselves were operational after the attack, and could be used to refuel cars, NIOPDC employees halted operations when it became clear that the company could not track the filling and charge customers for fuel.
Despite a lot of evidence of what happened, published on social networks, the authorities of the country do not recognize the fact of the hack and said that it was not a cyberattack, but a “software failure.”
Local media reports that all gas stations are now operating as usual.
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