The London-based Iran International news channel reported Wednesday afternoon on a major cyber attack against the Central Bank of Iran and several other banks. According to the channel, the attack caused widespread disruptions in the country's banking system. The channel, which is affiliated with opponents of the regime in Iran, reported that this may be one of the largest cyber attacks ever against the institutions of the Islamic Republic.
In January 2023, Iran claimed that it had succeeded in foiling a cyber attack against the country's central bank. The report on the current attack and the disruptions in the Iranian banks comes at a time when senior officials in the country continue to threaten a harsh response against Israel, as revenge for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran about two weeks ago.
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Tehran branch of Central Bank of Iran
(Photo: Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo)
Iran has suffered from a series of cyber attacks in recent years. In December, Iran reported that a cyber attack disrupted the operations of approximately 70% of the gas stations in the country, and pointed an accusing finger at Israel and the U.S. Later, an Israeli hacker group took responsibility for the attack.
The pro-Israel hacker group Predatory Sparrow wrote in a statement at the time claiming responsibility: "Today we shut down most of the gas stations in Iran in response to Iranian aggression in the region. Khamenei, know that playing with fire has a price. A month ago we warned you that we would make you pay for your provocations. This is just a taste of what that we are able to carry out. As in our previous operations, this attack was carried out in a controlled manner that limits the damage to the emergency services. Before the attack, we sent a warning to the emergency services in Iran and made sure not to damage some of the gas stations in the country, even though we had the ability to disable them completely."
In the same attack, the Israeli hackers published screenshots with internal information from the Iranian gas companies and wrote: "Here is a small taste of what can be found on their network: information about gas stations, details about the payment system and access to the management system of the gas stations."
This was not the first time that the Predatory Sparrow group claimed responsibility for a cyber attack in Iran. Almost two years ago, a large steel plant in the country stopped its operations due to a cyber attack. The group of hackers then published documentation of the damage caused to the plant.
In 2021, Iran reported a cyber attack that caused widespread malfunctions and disruptions at gas stations throughout the country. The number of stations that were shut down at that time was 4,300 stations, about 80% of all stations. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's cyber advisor estimated at the time that the attack was carried out by a "foreign country."