ICT Minister Archives - Iran News Daily

Iran ICT Minister Calls for Lifting Ban on Twitter

reporter 1222 — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 05:02:02 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The minister of communications and information technology of Iran said on Sunday he has demanded that the ban on Twitter be lifted.

Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi told the Parliament’s news agency ICANA that his ministry has made a request for the removal of the ban on the social networking service.

Azari-Jahromi said the issue needs to be addressed by a 12-member working group that is responsible for monitoring websites and social networking services and bans those it finds containing criminal contents.

He said the ministry’s request has not been put on the agenda by the working group.

According to IRNA, the minister has long been pursuing the removal of the ban on Twitter, but he has said the issue is out of his hand and must be decided collectively.

Twitter has been inaccessible in Iran since 2009, following protests in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.

Despite the ban, some high-ranking Iranian officials have accounts and are active on Twitter.

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Iran minister: More than half of schools connected to NIN

reporter 1222 — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 06:32:20 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Close to 70 percent of schools in Iran have been connected to the National Information Network (NIN), said the Iranian minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

This has been done as part of a project, jointly underway by the Iranian Ministry of ICT and the Ministry of Education, to increase the number of smart schools in the country, IRNA reported.

In July 2019, an MoU was signed between the two Iranian ministries to raise the number of smart schools in the country in a ceremony on the sidelines of the 25^th Iran International Exhibition of Electronic Computer and E-Commerce (ELECOMP).

In an address to that ceremony, Iranian ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi had said as stipulated in Iran’s Sixth Economic Development Plan (2017-22), the Ministry of Education should take serious steps to raise the number of the country’s smart schools, particularly in deprived areas.

Commenting on the implementation of the MoU on Sunday, Azari Jahromi said as per the agreement, the Ministry of ICT is responsible for connecting Iran schools to the NIN as the first step in the process of implementing the project.

He added equipping schools with the required infrastructure is the second step which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.

The other part of the project is creating smart systems that are jointly underway by the Information Technology Organization of Iran and the Ministry of Education.

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Major cyber attack targets Iran internet

reporter 1222 — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 04:55:42 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Telecommunications Ministry said Sunday it repelled a major cyber attack on Saturday that partially shut down the country’s internet services for an hour.

Deputy Minister Hamid Fattahi tweeted that “mercenary hackers” launched “the most extensive attack experienced in Iran history” against the country’s internet infrastructure

Fattahi said the intruders hit “millions of targets” in order to disrupt Iran’s internet network.

“The strike has been repulsed and [hackers] are going to the wall,” he said.

A Telecommunications Ministry official said Saturday that the distributed denial-of-service attack “disrupted the internet services of some mobile and fixed operators for an hour” at 11:44 (0814 GMT).

A DDoS attack involves overwhelming a target’s servers by making a massive number of junk requests.

DDoS attackers normally use hijacked or virus-infected computers to target websites. During such attacks, websites become unreachable after an unusually large number of requests for information are sent to them, causing the servers that host them to fail.

Twitter sources close to the communications ministry said the spoofed IP addresses from which the “highly distributed attacks” had been launched were from East Asia and North America.

“Connections have returned to normal following the intervention of Dejfa shield,” Sajad Bonabi said, referring to Iran’s digital fortress against cyberattacks.

He did not elaborate on the source of the attack.

Bonabi is a board member at the ministry’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Company, the sole provider of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Internet monitor NetBlocks confirmed Saturday’s outage and said it was “consistent with a targeted disruption and no technical faults are evident at the present time”.

Iran said in December it had thwarted a “highly organized cyberattack” targeting its e-government infrastructure.

Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi described the attack as “really massive” and “state-sponsored”.

In late September, the country’s energy sector was put “on full alert” to the threat of “physical and cyber” attacks a few days after Iran denied media reports its oil installations had been disrupted by a cyberattack.

DDoS attacks also in September targeted Iranian websites that were involved in cryptocurrency trade. Authorities said those attacks were 20 times more powerful than similar attacks in other countries.

AFP and Press TV contributed to this story.

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Satellites ready to orbit: ICT min.

reporter 1222 — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 09:39:25 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) Mohammad Javad Jahromi said on Sun. that six domestically-manufactured satellites are ready to be launched into the orbit.

On the occasion of launching “Zafar” Satellite into space, Iran’s ICT minister in a tweet wrote, “six satellites are ready for launching into the orbit.”

He went on to say that Amirkabir University of Technology started construction operation of a precision measuring satellite which is unique of its kind.

“Zafar” telecommunications satellite is as heavy as 113 kg in a way that its operational life in the orbit is at least 1.5 years, ICT minister stressed.

“Zafar” telecommunications satellite will be sent to space before the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations in the current year, he said, adding, “This satellite was delivered by the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) to Iran Space Agency (ISA) last week.”

Accordingly, making decisions for injection time of this satellite in the orbit shall be borne by the Ministry of Defense and Launcher Group, Jahromi stated.

Zafar also carries S&F consignment which provides features such as broadcasting a single message to all users, one-way voice communication between two users, sending a message to 256 direct users.

Preparing map of lands, basic map, civil development map, agricultural fields map, map on changes in lands natural environment and jungles, monitoring developments in seasonal and perpetual lakes, identifying damaged areas after the crisis and upgrading structural maps are among missions of the satellite.

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Iran to Orbit Zafar mid-February

reporter 1222 — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 13:25:44 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Communication and IT Minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi announced that Iran will send into the orbit its new home-made satellite, ‘Zafar (Victory)’, before February 11 (the 41st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran).

“This satellite (Zafar) will be launched before February 11 and the related information will be declared transparently,” Azari Jahromi told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting.

He added that Zafar will be launched on the back of Simorq carrier, adding that a copy of Zafar has also been manufactured to be launched immediately if efforts to send the first satellite into the orbit fail.

Azari Jahromi had announced last Sunday that Iran was gearing up to send two state-of-the-art home-grown satellites, like Zafar, into orbit, adding that the two spacecraft have been delivered to the Iran Space Agency (ISA).

“The Zafar 1 and 2 satellites, which have been designed by Iranian scientists, have successfully passed their tests and their launch process will commence soon,” Azari Jahromi said in a tweet.

He described the developments of these satellites and their launchers as a great step in the country’s space program, saying, “Two versions of Zafar have been built by young Iranian scientists, both of which are technologically superior to those we had built before.”

Zafar, a fully sophisticated satellite built at Iran’s University of Science and Technology, was announced by the ISA on Saturday to have been placed atop the ready-to-launch list.

The new satellite, designed for an 18-month activity plan, weighs about 90 kilograms and is equipped with four color cameras to capture the Earth’s surface with a resolution of 80 meters.

Zafar is similar in size and weight to its previous version — the Payam satellite — but distinct in one way as it can move in a circular orbit and send a message alongside its exploratory missions.

In January 2019, the domestically-built Payam (Message) satellite was launched into space with an aim to collect environmental information; however, technical problems that occurred during the final stage of the launch prevented the spacecraft from reaching orbit.

Iran’s indigenous satellite launch capabilities first made headlines when the first locally-built satellite, Omid (Hope), was launched in 2009.

The country also sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using a Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.

In February 2015, the Islamic Republic placed its domestically-made Fajr (Dawn) satellite into orbit, which is capable of taking and transmitting high-quality photos to stations on Earth.

Iran considers its space program a matter of national pride and has said its space vehicle launches are for scientific purposes.

Last month, Head ISA Morteza Barari said that his country is holding negotiations with a country with advanced space technology to jointly send scientist astronauts to space.

Barari said that the ISA has commenced plans for cooperation with what he called an ‘advanced country’ to send scientist astronauts to space.

“The talks are underway, and we hope to reach an agreement with one of the countries to commence the project.”

Barari declined to name the country with which the ISA is in talks about the project before the talks have been finalized.

“With the cooperation of this country, we are aiming to send a scientist-astronaut instead of a space tourist. Our goal is to participate in international projects; that is, to have an Iranian scientist present in the Earth’s orbit or a space station to take part in international research projects,” he added.

“The process of talks must be carried out fully. Once done, we will announce the schedule for the implementation of the project in the near future,” he said.

The Iranian scientists have in recent years made astonishing progress in the development of the country’s space program.

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Second cyberattack in less than a week; ICT minister

reporter 1222 — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 04:51:18 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s ICT minister announced on Sunday that the country has defused a second cyberattack in less than a week, this time “aimed at spying on government intelligence.”

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said in a short Twitter post that the attack was “identified and defused by a cybersecurity shield,” and that the “spying servers were identified and the hackers were also tracked,” AP wrote.

Last Wednesday, Azari Jahromi said a “massive” and “governmental” cyberattack also targeted Iran’s electronic infrastructure. He provided no specifics on the attack except to say it was also defused and that a report would be released.

On Tuesday, the minister dismissed reports of hacking operations targeting Iranian banks, including local media reports that accounts of millions of customers of Iranian banks were hacked.

This is not the first time Iran says it has defused a cyberattack, though it has disconnected much of its infrastructure from the Internet after the Stuxnet computer virus, widely believed to be a joint US-Israeli creation, attacked thousands of Iranian centrifuges in the country’s nuclear sites in the late 2000s.

In June, American officials claimed that US military cyber forces launched a strike against Iranian military computer systems as President Donald Trump backed away from plans for a more conventional military strike in response to Iran’s downing of a US spy drone in the strategic Persian Gulf.

Tensions have escalated between the US and Iran ever since Trump withdrew America last year from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran and began a policy of “maximum pressure.” Iran has since been hit by multiple rounds of sanctions.

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Iran ICT minister: US used to sanctioning nations

reporter 1222 — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 05:31:38 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran ICT minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi on Monday decried the United States’ sanctioning of nations as its “addiction” to embargoes.

Azari-Jahromi made the remark after the US administration imposed sanctions on him on Friday under the pretext of the minister’s role in Internet shutdown in the country following days of protests over fuel price hikes, according to IRNA.

He said that his ministry had no role in shutting down the telecommunications link during the unrest in the country, describing the US claims as lies.

If the US wants to expand Iranians’ access to information, “Why Iranian start-ups, businesses, and programmers have been deprived of so many requirements for their jobs in the field of technology?” he asked.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Azari Jahromi to its sanctions list that would freeze any of his property under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from any deals involving those assets.

It claimed that the Iranian minister had advanced a policy of “repressive Internet censorship,” a reference to a nationwide Internet shutdown during recent unrest after the government decided to raise gasoline prices.

In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Azari Jahromi responded to the sanctions, saying the US had already targeted “ICT startups, Developers, Cancer patients and EB children.”

Iran ICT minister also pledged to keep advocating access to the Internet and not allow the US to prohibit Iran’s development.

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Democratic values smashed by Washington; Iran says

reporter 1222 — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 06:30:31 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Saturday that Washington has no respect for democratic principles and values, condemning sanctions on Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a statement on Friday blacklisting Azari Jahromi for what it called his role in “widescale internet censorship,” a reference to a nationwide internet shutdown for security reasons during riots against petrol price hike.

Mousavi said, “The current administration of the United States attaches no value to democratic principles and values, transparency and human rights and also freedom of [access to] internet.”

He added that the U.S. administration exerts pressure on social networks, especially Twitter, to suppress voices.

“I’m not the only member of club of sanctioned persons (Based on Trump’s fairytales). Before me, Iran ICT startups, Developers, Cancer patients and EB children were there. I’ll continue advocating access to Internet & I won’t let US to prohibit Iran development,” Azari Jahromi tweeted on Friday.

The sanctions on Azari Jahromi came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to impose even more sanctions on Iran over the country’s handling of the recent unrests.

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Sanctioned ICT Minister to Fight against US Sanctions

reporter 1222 — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 05:42:10 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Sanctioned Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi dismissed US sanctions on him, saying he will not let Washington prohibit Tehran’s development.

On Friday, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned ICT minister, Azari Jahromi and added him to its sanctions list that would freeze any of his property under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from any dealings involving those assets, Press TV wrote.

It claimed that the Iranian minister had advanced a policy of “repressive internet censorship,” a reference to a nationwide internet shutdown during recent riots after the government decided to hike gasoline prices.

In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Azari Jahromi responded to the sanctions, saying the US had already targeted “ICT startups, Developers, Cancer patients and EB children.”

He also pledged to keep advocating access to the Internet and not let the US prohibit Iran’s development.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council ordered the internet shutdown last week after a group of “saboteurs” were found to be using online services like navigation and maps to coordinate riots in large cities.

The protests erupted across the country on November 15, after the price of petrol was raised by as much as 200 percent.

The internet slowly trickled back on in Iran on Friday after a days-long shutdown.

Since Thursday, the outage began to slightly lift. By Friday, internet connectivity stood at around 15% of normal levels, according to the monitoring group NetBlocks.

No respect for democratic values

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the US move to impose sanctions on Azari Jahromi, saying the US does not honor democratic values

“It is clear to everyone that the current US administration does not cherish democratic values and principles, transparency and human rights, including free [access to the] internet for others,” Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Saturday.

He added that a review of the US administration’s record shows that it has been exerting pressure on managers of major social networks and communication companies, such as Twitter, in order to silence the critics.

Such a policy reveals the White House’s “political and instrumental” approach to free Internet access.

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Iran Raps US Sanctions on ICT Minister

reporter 1222 — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 11:04:41 +0000

Iran Raps US Sanctions on ICT Minister

According To Iran News, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned the US move to impose sanctions on Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi.

In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi denounced the “US regime’s sanctions” against Azari Jahromi for his role in what Washington has described as “widescale internet censorship” during the recent wave of foreign-backed riots that hit a number of Iranian cities as a result of fuel price hikes.

“It is clear to everyone that the current US administration places no value on democratic principles and values, transparency and human rights, including free (access to the) Internet for others,” Mousavi said.

He said a review of the US administration’s record shows that directors of major social networks and communication companies, such as Twitter, have been pressured into silencing the critics, adding that such a policy reveals Washington’s “political and instrumental” approach to free Internet access.

On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused Azari Jahromi of advancing Tehran’s policy of “internet censorship” while in office.

“We are sanctioning Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for restricting internet access, including to popular messaging applications that help tens of millions of Iranians stay connected to each other and the outside world,” he said.

The Supreme National Security Council of Iran has implemented a partial shutdown of internet services since a week ago, after the outbreak of protests that turned violent in a number of cities.

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