In exchange for relatively cheap and effective drones used to strike Ukrainian infrastructure, Russia supplies Iran with cyber weapons, including digital surveillance.
This is discussed in the material The Wall Street Journal.
Russia is helping Iran gain enhanced digital surveillance capabilities as Tehran seeks deeper cooperation in fighting cyberwarfare, people familiar with the matter said, adding another layer to a growing military alliance that the United States sees as a threat.
The potential for cyber warfare cooperation emerged after Iran sold drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, agreed to provide Moscow with short-range missiles and sent tank and artillery shells to the battlefield, according to U.S. and Iranian officials. Tehran is seeking cyber assistance along with what U.S. and Iranian officials say is asking for dozens of elite Russian attack helicopters and fighter jets, as well as help with its long-range missile program.
"The Russian authorities have decided that the benefits of deepening military relations with Iran outweigh any disadvantages," the article says.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the key supplier of cyber services to Iran is the Russian company Protey, which has contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Moscow has likely already shared more advanced software with Iran that would allow it to hack the phones and systems of dissidents and opponents.
Russia and Iran have sophisticated cyber capabilities and have long cooperated with each other, signing a cyber cooperation agreement two years ago that analysts said focused largely on cyber defense networks. In the past, Moscow has long resisted sharing digital offensive capabilities with Iran, fearing they would later be sold on the dark web.
In Russia, PROTEI develops hardware and software designed to help governments monitor communications over phone lines, e-mail and credit card transactions, according to cyber security analysts. The company has contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
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