Hackers Post Phone Number of Iran's Supreme Leader

Hackers were blamed for disruptions in Iran's rail service on Friday, with a state broadcaster reporting "unprecedented chaos at railway stations across the country." The national railway website, ticket offices, and cargo services were affected, per Reuters, causing trips to be delayed and canceled. Boards in stations warned of "Long delays due to cyberattacks," though the broadcaster later contested the report of major delays. The hackers appeared to have control of the electronic message displays in stations, per the AP.

One message posted in stations gave a phone number for passengers to call for information. It turned out to be the number for the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian news agencies reported. Much of the nation's infrastructure was unplugged from the internet after the Stuxnet computer virus, developed by Israel and the US to hamper Iran's nuclear weapon efforts, was used against it a dozen years ago. Iran did not immediately report any damage to its internet systems or disruptions to other industries Friday. (More hackers stories.)