Some sanctions in the field of technology and Internet services against Iran have been lifted by the US Department of Treasury, whereby American technology companies are allowed to use some software, hardware and services that were previously subject to sanctions, without the need to obtain a license from Iran. America to export to Iran.
On the first day of Mehr 1401 (September 23), the US Department of Treasury issued and implemented the “GL-D2” general license. The US Treasury has announced the purpose of issuing this license is to “harmonize US sanctions guidelines with modern technological changes” and “free flow of information”, and thus, the “GLD-2” license has completely replaced the D1 license, which was approved on February 7, 2014. arrived.
With the implementation of this service license, hardware and software related to social media and team collaboration platforms, communication tools, video calls, cloud services, online and web-based maps, educational platforms, electronic games, machine translation and authentication services will be removed. and can be made available to Iranian users.
Antivirus software, IP spoofing tools, mobile operating systems and related software are also listed under the D2 General License. Mobile phones, satellite phones, personal digital assistants, SIM cards, modems, routers, radio equipment including antennas, laptops and tablets are also among the hardware that are subject to the “GLD2” general license.
Will we have a more secure network?
According to some experts in the field of information technology, one of the most important effects of this implementation of this public license is the cancellation of the embargo on software and services that have been out of our reach until now due to the embargo and are illegally or infected with malware and with the help of VPNs. We had access.
These issues have jeopardized the cyber security of users, organizations and businesses, which will eliminate a significant part of these risks when the sanctions are lifted. Network security expert Saeed Suzengar, in an interview with Zomit, analyzed the issue of public licensing of “GLD-2” from the security aspect and pointed out that this lifting of sanctions is a revolution in the country’s IT field.
This public license is very useful for people and can be very important and influential for the government and the system.
According to him, as a result of the double-edged sword of sanctions and filters, our country is the most infected country with malware in the world from the security point of view. These sanctions and filters have forced the user to a direction where he cannot use original tools, and this issue has caused us to have a completely infected network.
The existence of this infected network has faced serious challenges for users and organizations. Suzangar pointed out some of the results of being on the infected network and stated: “Some of these infections have caused the publication of personal and identity information, some of these obstacles have forced us to use cracked and unknown software that endangers our security. And they provide the basis for hacking the user.”
In describing the dangers of unsafe use of the Internet as a result of sanctions, he mentioned Iran’s ban on Google Play or some infected applications and explained as follows:
Due to the fact that Google Play was banned in our country, we had to use a VPN that caused additional infections or had effects that we did not notice. Also, examples of Golden Telegram, which has a proxy enabled by default, and although we don’t notice it, it adds the user to infected channels or forcibly installs applications on your phone.
Access to more secure services is provided
The negative consequences of these cases are not limited to damages related to users, and in many cases, they have had heavy consequences for organizations and even the whole country. Saeed Suzangar said in this regard:
In the past year, there have been several big hacks in our country, and two of them were due to the use of tools that we could not buy due to the embargo. Therefore, we inevitably used the cracked version and because we did not have the knowledge to update and secure it, we were hacked and the data and assets of an organization were lost.
In such a situation, the removal of some sanctions in the field of technology that provides access to the Internet as well as various software and services can have positive effects on the cyber security of the country. Confirming this, this expert added:
With direct access to tools that have the necessary quality in terms of global standards, we can take a big step towards securing the user and the country’s infrastructure. With the cancellation of these sanctions, we no longer need to use a low-quality service that does not have the necessary standards. By lifting the embargo, we can use Google Cloud Platform.
The opening will take place in the country’s IT sector
After the announcement of the issuance of this public license by the US Treasury Department, some have analyzed the importance of this removal of sanctions in the field of technology. Some people have called the issuance of this license unimportant and others have pointed to its important effects.
Arin Iqbal, an expert in the field of information technology and computer networks, in an interview with Zomit, pointed out some problems that exist in the field of IT and considered the cancellation of technology sanctions in the field of Internet accessibility to be effective in solving such problems. He said in this regard:
The fact is that currently in the country’s IT community, we need a large amount of international services, the use of which is inevitable. That is, if we want to start a business or do something in the field of technology, from machine learning to cloud space and the field of Internet accessibility, we need many of these services.
Iqbal considered banning to be one of our biggest current problems in the field of technological sanctions in the IT field and believes that probably with this general license, the ban on banning, especially the banning that happened in Google, will be resolved.
Canceling the embargo and the issue of expanding accessibility
The most important effect of the implementation of this license can be seen as the expansion of accessibility to various services. This information technology expert considered wider access to the services of cloud providers, such as Google, as one of the most important effects of this public license.
But what tangible results can the opening of these accesses have? In response to this question, Iqbal gave examples and said:
For example, with this general license, existing problems for IP and domain infrastructure services, Google services, etc. are likely to be solved.
Cheap and high-quality services for service companies inside the country can also be another result of this sanctions cancellation. Iqbal explained in this regard:
As problems with CDNs and cloud service providers are resolved, it is likely that many service providers will be able to provide cheaper and better quality services, making internet censorship more difficult.
According to this expert, if direct dependence is established on foreign cloud service providers, it will be much more difficult to apply filtering, and as a result, the usable space of the Internet for domestic users will increase.
We should take advantage of the lifting of sanctions
He also pointed to various activities in the field of technology edge and explained their effectiveness of this public license as follows: “Right now, when we are operating at the edge of technology, we need tools that are sanctioned; In fact, even a programming language is banned for us due to ban. “All these cases will disappear as a result of the removal of the technology sanctions related to the accessibility of the Internet.”
Arin Iqbal found the use of this public license useful for businesses and researchers and said:
If we can use this public license, it will open up space for us to operate internationally and it will be easier for businesses and researchers working on the cutting edge of technology.
He went on to give an example of the results of the lifting of the embargo and stated: “Overall, this removal of the embargo is very valuable, and we can probably see its signs in our relationship with companies like Ripe, because currently in Iran for payment “We have a problem with Ripe factors.”
Despite all these analyzes and positive and negative judgments about the public license “GLD-2”, the results and effects of this license have not yet been determined, and it is not possible to confidently comment on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of this action, and all comments are mere speculations about the possible consequences of cancellation. Sanctions in the field of technology.
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