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Iran's High Tech Copycat War Against the West: Drones and Cyberwar
An anonymous reader writes "Iran and its nuclear program seem to be getting all the headlines. Yet, Iran has found a way to respond to western cyber attacks such as Stuxnet, drone surveillance and targeted assassinations; they've decided to respond in kind. Iran has launched its own cyber attacks on U.S. banks via denial-of-service attacks. Iranian drones recently were used to spy on Israeli nuclear facilities. Cyberweapons were also used against Saudi oil facilities. The goal: to make sure the west, specifically the United States, knows that Iran does have the tools to strike back. While Iran does not have a world-class military like the United States, it does have the capabilities to cause damage if it wants to. With Iran taking to cyberspace and drones, it shows such technology is not just under the control of the U.S. Iran has been careful, though, not to escalate the conflict. The risk: what if the plan backfires and goes beyond its intended scope?"
It wasn't intended as a message to the west. It was a message to the middle east and, more importantly, the Iranian people. The drone was not a threat. If it was a threat it would have been shot down a lot earlier. It got 20 minutes only because Israel didn't want to shoot the thing down over a populated area -- or Gaza which would have the Palis in a hissy fit if, god forbid, the wreckage landed on a school or something. Had the drone been an actual threat you can guarantee it would have never entered Israeli airspace. It was not a "stealth drone" and Israel has radar.