Israel-linked hacker group claims cyberattack on Iranian bank, data destroyed

A hacker group previously associated with Israeli cyber operations has claimed responsibility for a damaging cyberattack on Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s oldest financial institutions, which is currently under US sanctions.

The group, known as “Gonjeshke Darande,” or “Predatory Sparrow,” announced the operation on social media, asserting that it had successfully destroyed the bank’s data, Caliber.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

“Bank Sepah was 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,” says Gonjeshke Darande in a post on X.

“This is what happens to institutions dedicated to maintaining the dictator’s terrorist fantasies. We thank the brave Iranians whose help made this operation possible,” it adds.

“This is what happens to institutions dedicated to maintaining the dictator’s terrorist fantasies. We thank the brave Iranians whose help made this operation possible,” the group added, implying collaboration with insiders or sympathetic actors within the country.

While the full extent of the damage is still unverified, numerous Iranian users on social media have reported widespread outages in Bank Sepah’s online services, suggesting that the bank’s operations were significantly disrupted as a result of the attack.

Gonjeshke Darande has emerged in recent years as a prominent actor in the shadow cyberwar between Iran and Israel, claiming responsibility for previous high-profile attacks, including on Iranian gas stations, transportation infrastructure, and industrial sites such as steel plants.

By Vafa Guliyeva