Cyberattack forces Iran steel company to halt production

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One of Iran’s major steel companies says it was forced to halt production after being hit by a cyberattack that also targeted two other plants, marking one of the biggest assaults on the country’s strategic industrial sector in recent memory. The Iranian government did not acknowledge the disruption or blame any specific group for the assault on the state-owned Khuzestan Steel Co. and Iran’s two other major steel producers — the latest example of an attack crippling the country’s services in recent months amid heightened tensions in the region. But an anonymous hacking group on Monday claimed responsibility on social media, saying it targeted Iran’s major steel companies in response to the “aggression of the Islamic Republic.”