Iran tightens grip on web in 'soft war' with West

[allesennogwat]

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and BRIAN MURPHY | Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran calls it the "soft war" with the West: Battles to control, defend and monitor the Internet and other high-level telecommunications. The latest move came quietly when the powerful Revolutionary Guard recently launched what it claims is a hack-proof communications network for its high-level commanders.

Largely overshadowed by the showdowns over Iran's nuclear program, the efforts to build a cyber-fortress have become a priority among leaders fearful of Internet espionage and virus attacks from abroad and seeking to choke off opposition outlets at home.

The drive also highlights the stepped up attempts by many nations — particularly across the Middle East — to filter the Web after social networking sites played such a crucial role in the Arab Spring uprisings.

In a video message for Iranian new year last month, President Barack Obama denounced what he called the "electronic curtain" that keeps ordinary Iranians from reaching out to Americans and the West.

"We are not in an imaginary state of threats or sanctions," Revolutionary Guard Deputy Cmdr. Hossein Salami (his real name) told Guard leaders in late March as he inaugurated the new closed communications system called "Basir," or Perspective. "Threats and sanctions are practically being enforced against us. Communications have changed the picture of the world including threats and wars."

The system is vaguely described as a something akin to a closed mobile phone network, possibly involving special relay towers and passcodes.

The Guard's network is separate from Iran's wider goal of creating a so-called "clean" Internet, a plan not fully explained by authorities but apparently seeking to weed out non-sanctioned content.

The Guard's new communications system reflects the increased emphasis on high-level security amid tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions and the possibility of a pre-emptive Israeli strike to stop what the West suspects is a program aimed at building weapons.

Basir was unveiled days after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the creation of an Internet oversight agency that included top military, security and political figures in the country's boldest attempt yet to control the Web.

The panel is headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and includes powerful figures in the security establishment such as the intelligence chief, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards and the country's top police chief.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-tightens-...170711243.html

[hk1123]

Makes me think of our funding for suitcased sized communications, just about the time of the Spring. Counter-measure?