If Iran's cyber capabilities launch attacks against the U.S. they would do more damage to public perceptions than actual infrastructure, a new study has revealed.
The study, 'Iran: How a Third Tier Cyber Power Can Still Threaten the United States', was published by the Atlantic Council, a pro-NATO think tank in Washington, stated.
According to the Washington Times, the study stated that previous cyber attacks on nation-states, like the Russian-backed one against Estonia in 2007, were not destructive and "'caused a political crisis, not a military one'.
It added that in the same way, a significant Iranian cyber attack against the United States would take on outsized importance, regardless of its technical sophistication, the report said.
The study said that there is no reason to believe that Iran's growing cyber army is less capable, and the country could easily hide its hand in any cyber attacks by mounting them via hackers-for-hire in other countries like Russia or Lebanon, the report added.