Cyber attack on nuclear weapons possible as US, Iran opened 'Pandora's Box', says IAEA ex-director

Cyber Security
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ex-director Dr Tariq Rauf has claimed during an official event that cybersecurity threat to nuclear weapon deterrent is an emerging challenge.

At a roundtable titled Current Challenges to Arms Control, organised by Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Dr Rauf said on Thursday, July 18 that US and Israel have opened a "new Pandora's Box by launching a cyber-attack against Iran."

As per the Tribune, during the event, which was attended by senior former officials, experts and scholars, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi the CISS Executive Director gave the historical background on global arms control initiatives.

Dr Rauf mentioned varieties of difficulties and challenges in terms of controlling the nuclear arms advancement of US. During his speech, he also suggested that there is a need for the improvement of the security environment for successful arms control negotiations.

In addition, Dr Rafu also talked about the cyber threats to the nuclear weapon deterrent. He mentioned that both by launching the cyber attack, US and Iran both have opened a "Pandora's box," and pointed figures on the difficult state of security in the world.

However, it should be mentioned that while several countries are claiming that Iranian hackers are still continuing their activity against the targets, including US, President Donald Trump ordered officials to launch a cyber strike against Iranian missile control systems as well as a spy network on Thursday, June 20.

This move was a response to the attacks on oil tankers and the recent downing of a drone aircraft, US Global Hawk drone. As per the US version, the drone was in international space, while the Iran government stated that it was in their airspace.

This article was first published on July 19, 2019
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