In the wake of a U.S. strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Quds Force Commander, analysts and former officials are warning that a cyberattack may be imminent, according to The Washington Post.
“At this point, a cyberattack should be expected,” Jon Bateman, former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst on Iran’s cyber capabilities, and currently a cybersecurity fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Post.
Iran’s cyber troops are some of the best in the world and the country has a long history of successfully attacking Western targets. Between 2011 and 2013, Iran was responsible for ongoing attacks on U.S. banks. Similarly, Iran is believed to be responsible for an attack on the Las Vegas Sands casino in 2014 that resulted in data being wiped.
Quds Force, the unit Soleimani commanded, specializes in unconventional warfare, including cyber warfare. The fact it was the Quds Force commander who was killed will likely add to the desire for revenge by a unit uniquely qualified to exact it.
Philip Ingram, a former senior officer in British Military Intelligence, told Forbes that we can expect something “immediate and spectacular.” He went into sat the killing of Soleimani “cannot be underestimated.”