TEHRAN — The Iranian Army staged a digital defense exercise on Tuesday to prepare for potential cyberattacks.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Deputy Chief of the Army for Coordination Affairs, stated that the drill, dubbed Fath-1 (Conquest-1), was intended at strengthening the Army's cyber defense capabilities and testing cyber threat response methods.

He went on to say that cyber defense has evolved into the fifth dimension of the battlefield, with a key role in improving the Army's combat capabilities.

According to the commander, the cyber drill included numerous techniques devised by the young personnel. 

He added, "We have a lot of strong points in the drill and strive to improve them." 

The rear admiral announced that in cyber war drills that the Army will hold soon efforts will be made to close the loopholes.

“With the war exercises we will stage soon, God willing, we will lessen and eliminate the weaknesses in dealing with cyber threats,” he explained. 

According to the rear admiral, several hundred young Army officers have organized cells on the platform of local and foreign systems to carry out cyber defense operations during the exercise.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces warned in August 2020 that cyber threats from any state, group, or individual against Iran would be dealt with decisively.

SA/PA