http://stopaidingdictators.wordpress.com/corporations-helping-iranian-dictators/cisco-systems/
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Corporations Aiding the Iranian Regime
o Advantech*
o Alvarion/Netronics Networks*
o BASF
o BayernGas
o Cisco Systems*
o Coca-Cola
o General Electric
o Halliburton
o Heckler & Koch (HK)
o Hughes*
o i-Direct*
o ND-Satcom*
o Nokia Siemens Networks
o Siemens AG
o Steiner-Prematechnik-Gastec (SPG)
o Risk Update
o Sweet Swedes: Stockholm Police solidarity with Iranians
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Cisco Systems*
Corporation: Cisco Systems*
Corporate website: http://www.cisco.com
Contact information: contact webform, Investor Relations Department: Cisco Systems, Inc., 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA; phone: (408) 526-8890; fax: (408) 853-3683
Country: US
Product/service provided to Iran: This American networking giant’s technology is the most critical asset of the Islamic dictatorship in maintaining communications and data links between military, police, security forces, state owned media and propaganda machine, and other government agencies. Cisco routers not only route, switch and manage the entire network traffic for the regime, but also are used for creating secure and encrypted communications channels, such as VPN/IPSec tunnels, all of it centrally managed by the highly capable CiscoWorks software. VoIP communications technology supplied by Cisco is also utilized heavily by the Iranian government agencies, including IP phones and Cisco’s Callmanager software. Experts estimate that there are more Cisco routers and switches in Iran than in the entire Middle East combined. Every single bank branch uses at least one access router, one edge router and two switches. There are over 12,000 branches of government-owned banks in Iran. Every IRGC, Basij, military, police, and Ministry of Intelligence base and branch has racks of this stuff. The entire national IP-MPLS and Metro Ethernet network is built on Cisco equipment. The Ministry of ICT’s RFP for tenders were written in such way that Huawei could not possibly be proposed in these projects – the only equipment able to satisfy the technical requirements of RFPs were those manufactured by Cisco. The higher end carrier-class routers and core switches are made-to-order items, not a regular inventory item. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of pieces of this restricted equipment here, and Cisco’s credibility in declaring they didn’t know where this enormous amount of equipment has gone to, is about as plausible as Ahmadinejad’s claims that Neda was killed in a pre-plotted devious plan by British-trained spies masquerading as basijis.
Benefits to the dictatorship of Iran: Cisco products constitute the most critical asset of the Islamic dictatorship in maintaining communications and data links between military, police, security forces, state owned media and propaganda machine, and other government agencies.
Impact on citizens of Iran: Cisco product is used extensively by the regime’s military, paramilitary, police and intelligence units, constituting just one way in which Western technologies are being used to repress Iranian civilians directly. Facilitating the work of the Iranian government (and by implication, the private sector, since so many “private” interests are essentially government-held) by making computer networking more reliable, efficient and effective in turn facilitates profit-making by Iranian corporations, which profits may then be reinvested into the furtherance of the regime’s agenda to develop weapons of mass destruction. Computing power is also a pre-requisite for the further research, design, and development of various types of military technologies.
News sources linking this corporation with questionable trade in Iran:
Inside Iran by Andrew Seymour, December 22, 2008. Although it is difficult to find direct substantiation of claims that Cisco provides their technologies to the Iranian dictatorship, this article does a good job of describing the ways in which computing technologies find their way past the trade embargos, most usually through Dubai (where Cisco maintains offices).
It is therefore something of an irony that while Iran is home to a burgeoning IT channel and regarded by many as the largest IT market in the region it remains a no-go area for many vendors - at least officially.
Ongoing trade embargoes prohibit US technology companies from conducting business in Iran, a directive that has prevented some notable industry heavyweights with in-country offices throughout the region from establishing any formal local presence. Household names such as AMD, Intel, Cisco, Dell and Microsoft are all affected by the ban.
This scenario has its constraints for the Iranian IT market although it’s not necessarily as destructive as you’d perhaps expect due to the high level of re-export activity that takes place.
IT kit sold into the UAE channel remains the primary source of supply, with products often passing through several conduits prior to being absorbed by the Iranian market.
Subsequently, Iranian buyers have access to most of the brands available elsewhere.
“90% of the Iranian IT market is provided by Dubai dealers or distributors,” claimed a source at one trader, emphasising Iran’s reliance on the re-export market.
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For vendors restricted by the embargo the prospect of not being able to conduct any form of channel development or management would appear frustrating, although not everybody agrees with that view. One source alleges that some vendors are quite content with the situation as their products are invariably making their way into the Iranian market without them incurring any costs.
“At least 40% of all Middle East local office sales are going to Iran, but as long as there is no official document showing that they sold it there they cannot give that MDF or rebate to the market,” said the source. “Sometimes you will see some strange movements because of this.”
