Iran alleges systematic sabotage of US-made networking infrastructure mid-conflict hardware shut down and rebooted despite internet blackout

Date:
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:05:00 +0000

Description:
Iranian media is reporting that networking infrastructure suffered
coordinated shutdowns, and blames the US.

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now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Iran blames the US for a networking shutdown Blame has been placed on pre-installed backdoors in US tech Iran remains reliant on importing foreign tech Iranian media has accused US tech companies and the US government of working together to install secret backdoors in networking infrastructure.

The claim comes after Iran reported coordinated shutdowns and outages across its networking hardware despite the government disconnecting the country from the internet. If true, the backdoor would have to be activated remotely using some other medium, which Iran has suggested could involve a satellite
network. Article continues below You may like US agencies warn Iranian
hackers are targeting American critical infrastructure causing 'disruptive effects within the United States' Iran state media claims strikes on AWS data centers were deliberate, due to its support for US "Not just censorship, its digital isolation:" Iran plans to cut ties with the global internet and VPNs may not help this time Widespread network shutdown Irans claims, shared by
the Iranian Fars News Agency, allege that hardware made by firms such as Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet, and MikroTik were subject to unexplained
coordinated shutdowns and reboots, with the implication that the companies have installed secret backdoors on behalf of the US government.

This isnt the first time such an accusation has been made. China has previously accused the US government of installing backdoors in chips and other tech likely to be imported into China. China has also previously
accused the US government of plots involving pre-installed malware , and
being behind multiple attacks launched by Volt Typhoon .

Iran's claims, though unsubstantiated, mirror those of China, with Chinese state media also widely sharing Irans theories. Iran has also suggested that some devices may have been involved in a botnet that led to the widespread outages.

Verifying such claims is difficult as Iran has maintained a near-total internet blackout since the outbreak of the conflict in late February. Internet access has been highly selective, with some outage trackers suggesting that the Iranian government only issues internet access to government officials and groups favorable to the regime. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/iran-alleges-systematic-sabotage-of-us- made-networking-infrastructure-mid-conflict-hardware-shut-down-and-rebooted-de spite-internet-blackout


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