The World Summit on Free Iran brought together about 30,000 sites in more than a hundred countries, some of which included thousands of representatives of local Iranian expatriate communities.
A set of cyber intrusions, national surveillance, virtual manipulation campaigns and terrorist activities through the Iranian regime has failed to suppress the voice of dissent expressed at the Iran Free 2020 summit organized in July through the exiled Iranian parliament, the National Council of Iranian Resistance (CNRI), theresa Payton argues and Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad in Security Magazine.
In an article published Friday on Security Magazine’s website, Payton, a former White House CIO, and Sepehrrad, a cybersecurity official, say the ultimate dramatic facet of this elaborate, high-profile virtual occasion was how he survived a state-sponsored series. multiple cyberattacks before and after the summit.
The full article is below:
Safety magazine
August 14, 2020
Theresa Payton and Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad
The Internet has a strong force for global interconnectivity and democratization. In addition, the Internet has brought new collective mobilization strategies, such as “e-rebellions” and virtual demonstrations. The global pandemic has accelerated the use of cyberspace as a tough means for individuals, teams, and nations to share ideas, engage, mobilize, and challenge authoritarian states in a harsh way.
Meanwhile, system hacking and manipulation of our minds have become alarming threats. The Iranian regime is employing a set of cyber intrusions, national surveillance, virtual manipulation campaigns and terrorist activities to suppress the voice of dissent. The regime also hides cyber agents and fake characters. They are components of virtual infrastructure and are active on social media platforms to promote a pro-Tehran political agenda. The documented history of Iran’s crackdown includes arrests, executions and filtering of all data through state media or the disabling of public access to the Internet.
Last month, the Iranian opposition succeeded in breaking the regime’s cyber suppression.
On July 17, Iran’s Parliament in Exile, the National Council of Iranian Resistance (CNRI), organized an impressive 3-day virtual occasion that united 30,000 sites via Zoom. The record virtual summit brought together live participants from the United States, Iran and more than a hundred other countries. Over 3 days, Iran’s main opposition organized several hours of simultaneous broadcasts of speakers, testimonies and musical performances from around the world and in seven languages to convey the message of a loose Iran in the world. French news agency Agence France Presse said the summit was the first organized “e-rebellion” opposed to the regime in Iran.
More than 1,000 political dignitaries and personalities from various countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States (including members of the United States Congress from any of the parties and chambers) participated in the global cyber summit and declared their help to the Iranian people. . ask for a loose Iran. Four prime ministers, 8 foreign ministers, 3 former heads of parliament, a former president of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. military and diplomatic corps, and some generation leaders have declared their solidarity with the exiled parliament. In her opening address, CNRI President-elect Maryam Radjavi said the call for replacement in Iran had been “heard in successive uprisings from December 2017 and January 2018 through November 2019 and January 2020.” She presses the CNRI’s commitment to “reverse the clerical regime,” to “build a flexible and democratic Iran” and to “remain true to the sovereignty and vote of the people” in a flexible Iran.
Perhaps the most impressive facet of the occasion is how the elaborate, high-profile virtual occasion survived a series of state-sponsored multiple cyberattacks before and after the summit. According to an exiled Iranian news website, a “planned attack in advance targeted several” Internet sites and live opposition television broadcasts. With the use of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks at the time, the Iranian regime used the DDOS as a tool for political repression. The attacks also targeted the Internet Service Provider (ISP), where hackers redirected the organization’s searches for malicious sites executed by the Iranian regime. Clearly, through the reaction of Iranian tyrants, we can tell how much it fears the CNRI and its message from a loose Iran.
However, the CNRI’s global cyber-event was not interrupted and demonstrated once again how the Internet remains a battleground between the other Iranians and the ruling tyrants. As the call for freedom and the regime’s replacement in Iran grows, it is imperative to perceive how the foreign network can support the democratic movement by implementing effective measures to curb the regime’s cyber-repression against other Iranians. The Iranian regime is employing an addition of these brutal tactics with more sophisticated and covert attacks and manipulation campaigns on social media to spread incorrect information and fake news at a speed and scale that would not have been heard before the virtual era. Cyber agents acting on behalf of the Iranian regime seek to diminish the ability of the media to investigate their fake transactions. They also seek to co-opt with the median narrative to consolidate their reputation at home and their program of demonizing the voice of the Iranian opposition, basically UNCRI affiliates.
Tehran’s hypocrisy is evident in the common use of online programs such as Twitter through Iran’s ideal leader and many regime officials, while the service, as well as other popular social media apps, are blocked for Iranians.
The use of cyber technology, mobile devices and messaging platforms remains a strategic tool to help the Iranian opposition and protesters organize, collect data among locals and get their message across the world. The CNRI’s July 17 occasion showed how the message of a loose Irancan can be amplified through the use of technology. Those occasions are likely to continue and widen with the ongoing protests in Iran. The time has come for a global cyber-political strategy in all countries and the personal sector to help other Iranians and their resistance to replace the movement. It is essential for the call of other Iranians for internet access without filtering or tracking the regime. It is imperative to ensure that CNRI’s presence grows and remains unscathed from cyber surveillance, espionage, mis-data and Tehran attacks at home and abroad. The call to action is about the loose global voice of Iran’s emerging voice of democracy, led by a woman, Maryam Radjavi.
Theresa Payton is a former White House CIO and ceo of cybersecurity company Fortalie Solutions.
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad is an author, researcher and director of cybersecurity.
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