Azernews.Az

Iran announced that it has thwarted a cyber attack on one of its Culture Ministry institutes, Trend news agency reported referring to Fars agency on Tuesday.

According to the report, the cyber attack, originated from the US city of Dallas via switches in Malaysia and Vietnam, had targeted the information center of the Culture Ministry's Headquarters for Supporting and Protecting Works of Art and Culture.

The attack was repelled by the headquarters' experts, said Fars agency.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Passive Defence Organisation - a unit tasked with fighting cyber attacks - said a virus had infected several industrial sites in Hormozgan province in recent months but was neutralised.

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has tightened online security since its uranium enrichment centrifuges were hit in 2010 by the Stuxnet computer worm, which Tehran believes was planted by arch-adversaries Israel or the United States.

Iranian authorities said in April that a computer virus was detected inside the control systems of Kharg Island - which handles the vast majority of Iran's crude oil exports - but the terminal had remained operational.

Cyber attackers also slowed Iran's Internet and attacked its offshore oil and gas platforms this year, Iranian officials have said.