Iran hints that U.S. tied to Aramco virus

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TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. government, considering its cyberattacks record, could have targeted Saudi Aramco oil company with a computer virus, an Iranian news agency reports.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. this week said a cyberattack targeted oil production, though there were no reported disruptions. Riyadh said it believed the attack originated from a foreign country.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reports that it spoke with an Aramco source who said the Pentagon may be behind some of these attacks.

"Proof and evidence show that the cyberattack on Aramco company has been carried out by a foreign group and given the record of virus attacks against Aramco it can be said that Pentagon is behind it," the source said.

U.S. and Israeli agencies had been accused of having a role in Stuxnet, a virus that struck Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz.

Iran had been blamed by Washington for launching a denial-of-service attack against the Saudi oil industry and other Western interests early this year.