Top News

Israeli hackers launch cyberattack on Iranian state-owned bank
18 Jun 2025

A hacking group, possibly linked to Israel, has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah.

The group, known as Gonjeshke Darande or "Predatory Sparrow," said they targeted the bank for allegedly funding Iran's military.

The attack comes amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran after Israel struck several military and nuclear sites in the latter this week.

Bank Sepah's official website found offline
Website status

The official website of Bank Sepah was found offline yesterday, with its London-based subsidiary, Bank Sepah International Plc, not responding to an email request for comment. Reports from Israeli media suggested that customers were facing difficulties accessing their accounts.

Warning from former NSA cybersecurity official
Expert opinion

Rob Joyce, former top cybersecurity official at the NSA, warned that "disrupting the availability of this bank's funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there."

The Gonjeshke Darande had previously claimed the responsibility for a cyberattack on an Iranian steel production facility in 2022.

The attack caused significant damage due to a large fire at the facility.

Attacks are the handiwork of a nation state
Past attacks

Security experts have said that such sophisticated attacks are usually beyond the capabilities of activist hackers, and would more be in line with a nation state's capabilities.

The alleged Israeli group has also been tied to a 2021 cyberattack that caused widespread outages at petrol pumps across Iran.

Despite the reports linking them to these attacks, Israel has never officially acknowledged its association with Gonjeshke Darande.