Punching Above Their Digital Weight: Why Iran is Developing Cyberwarfare Capabilities Far Beyond Expectations

摘要

This article describes how in recent years, Iran has joined the top ranks of the world powers in cyberspace and has demonstrated the ability to leverage cyberwarfare as a significant tool in its arsenal for pursuing its national security goals. While this increase in cyber power is relatively recent, some of the incidents and events that serve as the catalyst for the sudden digital surge go back decades. The reasons for these increased capabilities revolve around historic means of power projection, defense and preservation of the principles of the Iranian Revolution, response to Western aggression and Iranian nationalism. This article explores these ideological drivers and events to provide context for their trajectory and analysis of their likely implications.