(Bloomberg) — A major disruption at gas stations across Iran was caused by a cyber attack on software supporting a subsidized card payment system relied upon by millions of drivers, state-run Nour News reported.
The semi-official Fars news agency said the disruption may have been timed to coincide with the upcoming anniversary of widespread and violent protests that erupted after the government raised fuel prices in mid-November 2019.
Masoud Rezai, director of the company that manages the fuel card system told state TV: “it’s certainly a software issue” and that the entire digital payment system had shut down “due to security layers within the system.” He didn’t give more detail.
The problem started at around 11 a.m. Tehran time, Amin Rezanavaz, spokesman for Iran’s gasoline station owners union, told the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, adding that he couldn’t predict when the issue would be resolved.
Protests Erupt Across Iran After Gasoline-Price Increase (4)
Officials at the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co. are holding an emergency meeting to discuss the problem, Ali Forouzandeh, director of public affairs at Iran’s Oil Ministry, said in a separate interview with IRINN, cautioning people to avoid petrol pumps for the time being.
Millions of drivers depend on the fuel cards, which the government uses to manage the distribution of discounted gasoline. State TV said manual, non-card sales of gasoline were unaffected, meaning that drivers would have to pay a more expensive, unsubsidized rate while the card-based system was suspended.
(Updates with cyber attack as possible cause, background and quote in fourth paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
