Pro-Israel hacktivist group claims responsibility for alleged Iranian bank hack

Summary

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 by 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.” Contact Us 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. Ariel 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-I...