US-Iran cyberwars
Microsoft on October 4 revealed that Iranian hackers are targeting US President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign. It also emerged last month that the United States had carried out a covert cyberattack on Iranian systems in late September after an attack on Saudi oil facilities widely attributed to Iran. Washington had debated responding to Iran’s shooting down of a US surveillance drone on June 20 with air strikes, but eventually settled on a cyberattack on an Iranian database.
Given Trump’s sanctions pressure on Iran’s nuclear programme, Tehran will have an interest in preventing Trump from getting re-elected.
Iranian disinformation efforts will intensify ahead of the 2020 US presidential election.
Iran may draw inspiration from US cyberattacks and seek to disrupt US companies that are poorly defended.
Attacks are unlikely to focus on the financial sector as banks have made significant progress in increasing their cybersecurity.
More likely are targets in the oil and gas sector and utilities companies.
