Pro-Israel hacktivist group claims reponsibility for alleged Iranian bank hack
The pro-Israeli hacktivist group Predatory Sparrow claimed on Tuesday to have hacked and taken down Iran's Bank Sepah.
The group, which is also known for its Persian name Gonjeshke Darande, claimed responsibility for the hack on X.
'We, 'Gonjeshke Darande,' conducted cyberattacks which destroyed the data of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' 'Bank Sepah,'' the group wrote.
The group claimed Bank Sepah is an institution that 'circumvented international sanctions and used the people of Iran's money to finance the regime's terrorist proxies, its ballistic missile program and its military nuclear program.'
Do you have more information about Predatory Sparrow? Or other hacking groups active in Israel and Iran? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email.
According to the independent news site Iran International, there are reports of 'widespread banking disruptions' across the country. Iran International said several Bank Sepah branches were closed on Tuesday, and customers told the publication that they were unable to access their accounts.
Aerie Oseran, a correspondent for i24NEWS, posted pictures of ATMs in Iran displaying an error message.
TechCrunch could not independently verify the group's alleged cyberattack. We reached out to two Bank Sepah Iranian email addresses, but the messages returned an error. Bank Sepah's affiliates in the U.K. and Italy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Predatory Sparrow did not respond to a request for comment sent to their X account, and via Telegram.
The alleged cyberattack on Bank Sepah comes as Israel and Iran are bombing each other's countries, a conflict that started after Israel began targeting nuclear energy facilities, military bases, and senior Iranian military officials on Friday.
It's unclear who is behind Predatory Sparrow. The group clearly fashions itself as a pro-Israel or at least anti-Iran hacktivist group, and has targeted companies and organizations in Iran for years. Cybersecurity researchers believe the group has had success in the past and made credible claims.
'Despite appearances this actor is not all bluster,' John Hultquist, the chief analyst at Google's Mandiant, wrote on X.
According to Rob Joyce, who previously worked at the NSA and the Biden administration, 'Predatory Sparrow's past cyber attacks on Iranian steel plants and gas stations have demonstrated tangible effects in Iran.'
Predatory Sparrow's most eye-catching alleged hacks have been against a steel maker, which allegedly caused an explosive fire in the plant, and against Iran's gas stations, which caused disruptions to citizens trying to refill their cars' gas tanks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
5 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump debates bombing Iran in pivotal moment for presidency
President Donald Trump faced one of the most monumental decisions of his presidency on Tuesday as he debated whether to join a war against Iran that risked sucking Washington into a new Middle Eastern conflict but also offered the chance to eliminate a rival's nuclear program. In a string of social media posts across the day, the president said that the United States has 'complete and total control of the skies over Iran,' warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini that he was an 'easy target,' and demanded 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' without defining what that would mean. As the day closed and after an 80-minute meeting with top aides in the Situation Room, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House official said. The tough language came at a moment of extraordinary weakness for Tehran, whose power is at a low ebb following a year of Israeli attacks against its allies and proxies in the Middle East. Trump has long taken an aggressive approach toward Iran, although he also campaigned on ending global conflicts and as recently as last week continued to seek a new agreement to restrict its nuclear program. Trump's current posture could rebound in unpredictable ways. If he succeeds in wresting concessions from Iranian leaders to dismantle their nuclear program or destroys it by military force without provoking major retaliation, he could be hailed as a president whose unpredictable approach to foreign policy yields results. Mishandling the situation could pull Washington into a major war, with dangerous and unpredictable consequences for U.S. citizens. And it could also lead to a nuclear-armed Iran, if strikes fail and the government resolves to develop the nuclear weapon that it has long declared it does not seek. 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn't compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured 'stuff,'' Trump said Tuesday, before meeting with his advisers in the Situation Room for 80 minutes. 'Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA.' Leaders who met with Trump at a Group of Seven summit of like-minded industrial democracies in Canada on Monday said that the U.S. leader had floated the possibility of joining Israeli strikes against Iran — an extraordinary departure after months in which he had pushed for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear program, sometimes over the objections of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accompanied Trump to Canada, was calling counterparts on Monday to discuss the situation, but told some of them that the United States did not intend to join the Israeli attack on Iran, according to three officials familiar with the calls who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the private discussions. By Tuesday, those officials said they believed the U.S. position had changed, and that Trump was considering joining the attack. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), long one of the GOP's most vocal Iran hawks, said he spoke to Trump Monday night and believes Trump wants to help Israel to 'finish the job' in destroying the country's nuclear program, including a key facility in Fordo, south of Tehran. 'I think he's very calm, very resolved," Graham said. 'I don't think Israel can finish Fordo without our help, and it's in our interest to make sure this program is destroyed, as much as it's Israel's. And so if there's something you need to do to help Israel, do it.' Trump was supposed to remain in Canada on Tuesday, but he dashed back to Washington a day early, saying that he needed to be in Washington to monitor the situation in the Middle East. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met with Trump in Canada, expressed gratitude on Tuesday for Israel's attack on Iran, saying that Israel was doing 'the dirty work … for all of us.' 'We are also affected by this regime,' Merz told Germany's ZDF broadcaster on the sideline of the summit. 'This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world.' While some of Iran's nuclear facilities have been attacked in recent days by Israel, the most significant is the Fordo enrichment plant, which is buried deep underground and inside a mountain. U.S. officials have said the center can be effectively attacked only with massive, 'bunker-busting' bombs, including the GBU-57, a 15-ton round known as the 'massive ordnance penetrator,' or MOP. The 20-foot-long bomb is carried by the B-2 Spirit, the bat-wing-shaped stealth bomber. The fleet is based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and previously has been deployed for global bombing runs in which they rely on aerial refueling to fly to and from targets without stopping. Should the Pentagon use other kinds of bombs to attack Iran, it could rely on an array of other aircraft, including fighter jets already in the region and B-52s. The Pentagon temporarily relocated some of these aircraft recently to Diego Garcia, an island with a joint U.S.-British military base in the Indian Ocean. Trump's claim of control over Iran's skies may be an indication that U.S. officials have assessed that most of Iran's air defense have been destroyed by Israel in recent days. Since Israel launched the attack on Iran late last week, U.S. officials have bolstered their extensive presence in the region but have repeatedly stressed that they are doing so for defensive purposes only. Trump has contradicted that messaging, however, warning Iranians in Tehran, a city of about 10 million people, that they should evacuate. While the U.S. military had not launched any strikes on Iran as of Tuesday afternoon, defense officials said, it has assisted Israel in other ways, including using Navy destroyers off the coast and fighter jets to shoot down Iranian munitions fired toward Israel. Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, the top U.S. commander overseeing operations in the Middle East, who has advocated a hawkish approach toward Tehran, told the House Armed Services Committee last week that he has presented a 'wide array of options' to Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if they choose to pursue military force against Iran. Kurilla told lawmakers that the United States 'now stands in a strategic window of opportunity to secure its national interests' in the Middle East – including preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. Most experts assess that Iran would need a week to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb. But they say that it would take months, up to a year, to turn the uranium into a weapon. In Canada, while Merz backed Israel, other leaders were less outspoken or spoke in thinly-veiled disagreement. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Canada on Tuesday that a ceasefire and ongoing negotiations were the only solution. 'I think that people are sovereign, they change their leaders by themselves and all those who have wanted in the past to change regimes through strikes or military operations have made strategic errors,' he said. Kaja Kallas, the top European Union diplomat, said that EU foreign ministers who held an emergency virtual meeting Tuesday morning were united in their call for de-escalation. 'When it comes to the United States getting involved, then it will definitely drag the region into a broader conflict, and this is in nobody's interest,' Kallas said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a telephone call Monday night, 'emphasized that it is also not in their interest to be drawn into this conflict,' she said. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged de-escalation and negotiations in phone calls Tuesday with both Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. In Qatar, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said his government was one of many in the region exerting efforts to 'reach calm that spares the region the repercussions of this dangerous escalation of the Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.' Israel continued to pummel Iran Tuesday, using about 60 fighter jets to target 12 missile launch and storage sites, many in western Iran, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Effie Derfin said Tuesday night. Israel's military also claimed Tuesday to have killed Ali Shadmani, whom it described as Iran's wartime chief of staff. Israel did not present evidence of the assassination, and Iran did not immediately confirm his death. Iran's supreme leader appointed Shadmani to his position four days ago after his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was killed in Israeli attacks on Friday. Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defense fire in Tehran and explosions in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Tuesday. Iranian civilians streamed out of the capital overnight and into Tuesday. Israeli strikes also appear to have made 'direct impacts' on the underground section of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tuesday, citing analysis of high resolution satellite imagery. It was the International Atomic Energy Agency's first assessment that the centrifuge halls buried deep underground may have been damaged. Iran's retaliatory barrages against Israel carried on for a fifth day, triggering Israel's air defenses on an 'hourly basis,' the military official said. The Iranian attacks have killed 24 people in Israel and injured more than 600, the Israeli government said Tuesday. Iranian authorities said that 224 people had been killed by Israeli strikes as of Sunday, the most recent figures available. They did not differentiate between military and civilian casualties. Parker reported from Cairo. Susannah George in Doha, Qatar, Ellen Francis in Brussels, Kate Brady in Berlin, Yeganeh Torbati, Joshua Yang, Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv, Abbie Cheeseman and Mohamad El Chamaa in Beirut, Annabelle Timsit in London, Evan Hill in New York, Gerry Shih in Jerusalem, Cat Zakrzewski in Calgary, Alberta, and Abigail Hauslohner, Matt Viser, Natalie Allison and Nilo Tabrizy in Washington contributed to this report.
Fox News
13 minutes ago
- Fox News
Evening Edition: President Trump Weighs US Involvement in Iran
Israel has been scoring victories against Iran in what has now been five days of strikes against the Islamic Republic, with the broader goal of destroying their nuclear weapon capabilities. So far the American military has only helped Israel to defend itself from Iranian ballistic missiles, but recent moves from President Trump suggest he is weighing U.S. involvement. Vice President at the Lexington Institute and national security expert Dr. Rebecca Grant joins FOX's John Saucier to explain the focus on Iran's nuclear facilities, President Trump's threat against Iran's leader, and the U.S. demanding 'unconditional surrender.' Photo Credit: AP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
Live updates: Israel and Iran conflict news
Update: Date: 4 min ago Title: Israel issues evacuation warning a district in Tehran Content: The Israeli military told residents in Tehran's District 18 to evacuate an area that it highlighted in a post on X. It warned that it would carry out strikes against military infrastructure there. 'Your presence in this area will put your life in danger,' it said. Update: Date: 8 min ago Title: Air defenses in Tehran repelling projectiles, local news agency reports Content: Iran's air defenses are repelling projectiles over the capital Tehran, the semi-official Iranian outlet Mehr News Agency reported. A video posted on the agency's X page showed flashes in the sky as explosions were heard throughout the city. Update: Date: 12 min ago Title: Catch up: Trump considers role of US in Israel-Iran conflict as countries trade strikes for fifth day Content: Israel and Iran traded strikes for the fifth day today as US President Donald Trump weighs if the American military should get more involved in the conflict. The president held a meeting with his national security team and sources say he is warming to the idea of US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Israel officials, meanwhile, are waiting for Trump to make a decision — hoping the US will jump in. Here's what to know today: CNN's Elise Hammond, Alejandra Jaramillo, Sarah Ferris, Maureen Chowdhury, Natasha Bertrand, Tamar Michaelis, Dana Karni, Catherine Nicholls, Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Kylie Atwood, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Molly English, Manu Raju, Lauren Fox, Matt Egan, Nicky Robertson, Hira Humayun, Nechirvan Mando, Jeremy Diamond, Lauren Izso and Michael Rios contributed reporting to this post. Update: Date: 9 min ago Title: Israel detects more missiles from Iran Content: Israel says it has detected more missiles launched from Iran less than an hour after it was targeted by a previous barrage. Sirens are going off in central Israel. Israel's air defense attempted to intercept projectiles over Tel Aviv. Explosions and sirens were heard throughout the city. Update: Date: 10 min ago Title: Trump and Netanyahu spoke on the phone, White House official says Content: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone ahead of Trump's Situation Room meeting, according to a White House official. A readout of the conversation between the two leaders was not provided. Israel and Iran are trading strikes for a sixth day after Trump demands 'unconditional surrender' in a warning to Iran. Update: Date: 10 min ago Title: Seeking Iranian regime change through military means "would lead to chaos," Macron says Content: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday cautioned against seeking a change to the Iranian regime through military means. 'I believe that the biggest error today is to seek a regime change in Iran through military means, because that would lead to chaos,' Macron told journalists in Kananaskis, Canada, where the G7 is holding its annual summit. Macron got into hot water with US President Donald Trump on Monday after telling reporters that Trump had left the meeting early to discuss ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Iran. Macron said France would support a ceasefire, though Trump quickly rejected the notion that he was working toward one. 'Our responsibility is to resume discussions as quickly as possible to restore a framework for addressing the nuclear and ballistic issues. This is what France has consistently done for the past 10 years,' Macron said.
