Pro-Israel hackers claim cyberattack on Iranian bank
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A Pro-Israel hacking group says it attacked a major Iranian bank, causing widespread outages.
Why it matters: The attack would mark the first major cyberattack on critical infrastructure during Israel's war in Iran.
Driving the news: Predatory Sparrow, an Israeli hacking group, said today that it is behind a series of cyberattacks against Iran's Bank Sepah.
- The group — which publicly goes by the Farsi translation of its name, Gonjeshke Darande — added that it's also deleted the state-owned banking system's data.
- "This is what happens to institutions dedicated to maintaining the dictator's terrorist fantasies," the group wrote on X.
- Axios could not immediately verify these claims.
State of play: Bank Sepah customers have reportedly been facing problems with accessing their accounts, making withdrawals and paying with their cards, according to local media outlets.
- Iranian state media warned that the disruptions could impact the country's gas stations, which relies on the bank to process transactions.
- Bank Sepah has not commented publicly on the attack, which happened after some people in Tehran evacuated overnight following President Trump's ominous warning.
Between the lines: While malicious hackers are known to exaggerate the impact of their attacks, Predatory Sparrow actually has a long history of destructive attacks on Iranian infrastructure.
- The group has previously bragged and shared videos of attacks at Iranian steel mills and successfully shut down the country's railway system computers and gas stations.
- "Predatory Sparrow's past cyber attacks on Iranian steel plants and gas stations have demonstrated tangible effects in Iran," Rob Joyce, the former cyber director at the National Security Agency, wrote on X.
- "Disrupting the availability of this bank's funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there," he added.
The intrigue: The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Bank Sepah in 2018 for providing support to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
What to watch: Both Iran and Israel are cyber superpowers in their own right. Don't expect the cyberattacks in the ongoing conflict to stop here.
