Iran nuke pact revives GOP cyber fears

An agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear development program in exchange for sanctions relief has resurrected Republican fears that Tehran’s strengthened finances could inadvertently jumpstart the country’s cyber warfare efforts.  

“I think potentially lifting the sanctions fuels their support of terrorism, whether that’s cyber, whether it’s conventional weapons purchases,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told reporters Tuesday.

{mosads}The White House early Tuesday announced that negotiators from Iran and six world powers had reached a final agreement to lift international sanctions in exchange for Tehran placing decade-long limits on its nuclear program designed to cripple any attempt at building a nuclear weapon. Critics of the talks, including many Republicans, think the deal could leave loopholes that enable Iran to continue attempts to gain nuclear weapons.

Cyber experts have been sparring for months over the effects a successful nuclear pact might have on Iran’s rapidly accelerating cyber program, which has already infiltrated critical networks in over a dozen countries, including the U.S.

Many believe the successful deal gives Iranian cyber warriors incentive to spare the U.S. their wrath. Numerous security researchers have noted a precipitous drop in Iranian online aggression targeting the U.S. public and private sector during the prolonged negotiations.

“It holds [Iran] back for awhile,” Jeff Bardin, chief intelligence officer at cyber data firm Treadstone 71, told The Hill in May. “I don’t think we’ll see any major hits against the U.S.”

But the completed pact will also help fill Tehran’s coffers, potentially giving the country’s cyber program access to better technology and training, speeding the already rapid pace at which the country is becoming a major cyber power.

“It could,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), an Intelligence Committee member, told reporters. “That’s one of the questions.”

Over the last few years, Iran has surpassed almost any other country in its focus on bolstering its cyber program, experts say. By most estimates, it’s become a top-five cyber power worldwide, rapidly closing in on China and Russia as a major digital adversary to the U.S.

“Iran, along with Russia and China, are among the most active state perpetrators of cyberattacks,” Collins said.

A recent bruising digital assault on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) left over 22 million people’s most sensitive data in the hands of suspected Chinese hackers. The incident has highlighted the damage a foreign power can inflict through cyberspace.

Iran, Burr said, has “been capable of doing that for awhile.”

“That’s a concern,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) told The Hill. “But their sophistication level [on cyber] isn’t at the level of the Chinese, the Russians. But it’s still certainly a significant issue.”

But the nuclear deal’s potential effect on Iran’s cyber program is unlikely to derail the deal.

“Right now it’s the path to nuclear weapons” that most concerns lawmakers, McCain said.

The deal bars Iran from producing enough uranium and plutonium to make a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years. It also gives inspectors access to Iran’s nuclear facilities, including military sites, “where necessary, when necessary.” The standard falls short of an “anytime, anywhere” requirement many lawmakers were demanding.

Lawmakers will now have 60 days to review the deal, and could pass a resolution to approve or disapprove the agreement.

“There are many legitimate questions and until we have a chance to ask those questions I’m going to withhold final judgement on the whole deal,” Collins said. “But obviously I have a number of concerns.”

Obama has already threatened to veto any measure that scuttles the deal, meaning lawmakers would need a two-thirds majority to overturn the pact.