Iran ready to counter US on cyberspace, says Intelligence Minister

Tehran, July 1 (ANI):Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi has said Iran is already prepared to counter America's 'Internet in a suitcase' program. Iran has developed counter measures to take on 'Internet in a suitcase' program reportedly developed by the US to bring online access to dissidents living under autocratic regimes, Iran's Fars News Agency reports. "We had predicted these (U.S. devised) actions, for example the Internet in suitcase, and devised proper ways to combat them," Moslehi was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency. Funded in part by the U.S. State Department, the 'Internet in a suitcase' is part of a classified multi-platform telecommunications program led by the United States to provide dissidents around the world the ability to 'undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.' But, according to the Iranian report, the purpose of the program is to connect dissidents directly with CIA and is only a small front in US cyber confrontation directed at Iran. The U.S. State Department confirmed the existence of the 'Internet in a suitcase' program but CIA declined to comment on Iran's ability to stop it, the report says. Last week, Iran's Minister of Communication and Information Technology Reza Taqipour said that in an effort to provide Internet access with higher bandwidth to its people, Iran is set to test its national Internet with the help of limited users. Tehran has also undertaken a project to develop a national search engine dubbed ' Ya Haq' by early 2012, which can be accessed through local Internet. (ANI)