Large-scale cyber attack cripples Iranian banks

A large-scale cyber attack caused major disruptions at the central Iranian bank and other financial institutions in the Islamic Republic on Wednesday, Iran International reported.

Initial assessments suggest that the apparent hack could be “one of the largest cyberattacks ever” against Iranian government infrastructure, according to the London-based outlet, which has official Saudi ties. The channel didn’t identify the hacker.

Washington has sanctioned the Central Bank of Iran since 2019 for providing support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, Tehran’s proxy in Lebanon. The United States designates both its guard corps and Hezbollah as terror organizations.

Babak Itzhaki, Iran International Jerusalem correspondent, told Israel’s Channel 12 on Wednesday that hackers obtained bank details and credit card information of millions of Iranians. The regime has tried to keep a lid on reports of the cyber attack all day, he said.

As ATMs broke down on Wednesday, anti-regime activists reportedly plastered posters on bank branches that read, “Dear customers, It is not possible to withdraw money from this ATM. This is because all of Iran’s budget and national resources have been allocated to wars and the corrupt religious leaders of the Islamic Republic regime.”

The cyber attack comes as Israeli intelligence reports indicate that Iran and Hezbollah are slated to strike the Jewish state “within days.”

Tehran and its proxy have vowed to avenge both the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s “political” bureau, and of Fuad Shukr, a senior member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, whom Israeli defense officials have described as the organization’s No. 2 man.