Iran  detected a computer worm that targeted the Oil Ministry, the National Iranian Oil Co. and other companies affiliated with the ministry, Mehr reported, without citing anyone.

 

The malware disrupted Internet access but was detected before it could infect the computer systems, the report said. Officials are looking into the matter, it said without giving further details.

Iranian state oil Websites have been targeted by a cyberattack but have repelled it, Iranian media said Monday, echoing a previous episode against the country's nuclear program two years ago. 

The Mehr news agency said the Iranian Oil Ministry, the National Iranian Oil Company and a number of other companies affiliated to the ministry, were targeted by a computer worm on Sunday, but the malware was detected before it could infect the systems. 
 

The cyberattack disrupted Internet access at the aforementioned ministry and companies, and the relevant officials are investigating the issue. An unidentified Oil Ministry official told Mehr that the cyberattack had caused no damage. The Websites couldn't be accessed Monday. 
 

Iran in 2010 was the target of a massive cyberattack by a highly sophisticated worm called Stuxnet that penetrated at least 30,000 computers across the country and seemed to specifically target machines linked to centrifuges carrying out uranium enrichment. 

 

(Source: agencies)