Israeli hacktivist group predatory Sparrow claimed he hacked and defeated Iranian bank Sepa on Tuesday.
The group, also known as the Persian name Gonjeshke Darande, argued for the responsibility of the X's hack.
“Gonjeshke Darande” carried out a cyberattack that destroyed data from the Islamic Revolutionary Security Force “Bank Sepa,” the group wrote.
The group claimed that Sepa Bank is an agency that “averts international sanctions and uses Iranian money people to fund the regime's terrorist proxies, ballistic missile programs and military nuclear programs.
Do you have more information about predatory sparrows? Or other hacking groups operating in Israel and Iran? From unprocessed devices and networks, you can safely contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai with a signal of +1 917 257 1382, via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or by email.
According to independent news site Iran International, there have been reports of “wide range of bank disruptions” across the country. Iran International said several bank Sepa branches were closed on Tuesday, telling the publication that customers could not access their accounts.
I24News correspondent Ariel Oseran posted an ATM photo to Iran with an error message.
TechCrunch was unable to independently verify the group's suspected cyberattacks. I contacted the email addresses of two banks Sepyran, but the message returned an error. Affiliates of UK and Italian bank Sepa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Predatory Sparrow did not respond via Telegram for requests for comments sent to your X account.
The alleged cyberattacks at the bank's Sepa are the conflict that began after Israel began targeting nuclear facilities, military bases and senior Iranian military authorities on Friday as Israel and Iran are bombing each other's countries.
It is unknown who is behind the predatory sparrow. The group has apparently fashed itself as Israeli or at least an anti-Iranian hacktivist group, targeting Iranian businesses and organizations for many years. Cybersecurity researchers believe the group has made successful and reliable claims in the past.
“Not everything gets intense for this actor despite his appearances,” wrote John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google's Mandiant, in X.
According to Rob Joyce, who previously worked for the NSA and Biden administration, “Presential Sparrow's past cyberattacks on Iran's steel factories and gas stations have shown concrete effects in Iran.”
The predatory Sparrow's most eye-catching hack reportedly caused an explosive plant fire against steelmakers, opposed to Iranian gas stations, causing chaos among citizens who tried to refill the gas tanks in their vehicles.