We Ignore Iran at Our Peril

When it comes to cyberweapons, America is an elephant and Iran is a flea. Still, a flea can be a persistent nuisance, especially for the unprotected.

Iran’s cyber capability is the focus of a detailed study called “Iran’s Cyber Threat,” to be published soon by Collin Anderson and Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It describes a country that, although “third tier” on the cyberthreat matrix, can still do considerable damage.

The disclosures about Iran’s cyberattacks are a reminder that the United States and its allies live in a dangerous electronic ecosystem. Russia’s hacking of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign gets daily coverage, and China’s theft of American secrets has also been well publicized. What gets too little attention are the less sophisticated but still toxic weapons available to dozens of smaller countries. The United States, with its relatively open systems, can be an easy target.