Latest news with #PredatorySparrow
WIRED
16 hours ago
- Politics
- WIRED
Israel Says Iran Is Hacking Security Cameras for Spying
Amid Israeli airstrikes this week and the imminent threat of further escalations by the United States, Iran started severely limiting internet connectivity for its citizens, limiting Iranians' access to crucial information and intentionally pushing them toward domestic apps that may not be secure. Meanwhile, the Israel-tied hacking group known as Predatory Sparrow is waging cyberwar on Iran's financial system, attacking Iran's Sepah Bank and destroying more than $90 million in cryptocurrency held by the Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex. With the US still reeling from last weekend's violent shooting spree in Minnesota targeting Democratic state lawmakers and their families, an FBI affidavit indicates that the suspected shooter allegedly used data broker sites to find targets' addresses and potentially other personal information about them. The finding highlights the potential dangers of widely available personal data. This week, WIRED published its How to Win a Fight package, which includes our roundup of tools for tracking the Trump administration's attacks on civil liberties, plus the most up-to-date versions of our guides to protecting yourself from government surveillance, protesting safely in the age of surveillance, and protecting yourself from phone searches at the US Border. While you're at it, don't forget to print your own copy of the How to Win a Fight zine! Better yet, print two and leave one at your local coffee shop or library. And there's more. Each week, we round up the security and privacy news we didn't cover in depth ourselves. Click the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there. Israeli officials said this week that Iran is compromising private security cameras around Israel to conduct espionage as the two countries exchange missile strikes after an initial Israeli barrage. A former Israeli cybersecurity official warned on public radio this week that Israelis should confirm that their home security cameras are protected by strong passwords or shut them down. 'We know that in the past two or three days, the Iranians have been trying to connect to cameras to understand what happened and where their missiles hit to improve their precision,' Refael Franco, the former deputy director general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, said. Like many internet-of-things devices, surveillance cameras are notoriously vulnerable to takeover if they are not secured with strong account protections. They have previously been targeted in other conflicts for intelligence gathering. The Kyiv Post reported this week that hackers from Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) launched a cyberattack against Russian internet service provider Orion Telecom that disabled 370 servers, took down roughly 500 network switches, and wiped backup systems to hinder recovery. The attacks reportedly caused internet and television outages. Orion Telecom reportedly said that it was recovering from a large DDoS attack and would quickly restore service. The attack came on June 12, the national holiday known as Russia Day. 'Happy holiday, disrespectful Russians," the attackers wrote in a message circulated on Telegram groups. "Soon you'll be living in the Stone Age—and we'll help you get there. Glory to Ukraine.' The attackers claim to be part of Ukraine's BO Team hacking group. Sources told the Kyiv Post that Russian security agencies working on the country's war against Ukraine use Orion Telecom and were affected by the connectivity outages. Bloomberg reported this week that the satellite communication firm Viasat discovered a breach earlier this year perpetrated by China's Salt Typhoon espionage-focused hacking group. In early December, US authorities revealed that Salt Typhoon hackers had embedded themselves in major US telecoms, including AT&T and Verizon. After revelations last year of the group's extensive telecom hacking spree in the US and elsewhere, WIRED reported in February that Salt Typhoon was still actively breaching new victims. Viasat says it has been cooperating with federal authorities to investigate its breach. The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said this week that it issued a £2.31 million ($3.1 million) fine to the beleaguered genetic testing company 23andMe as a result of the company's damaging 2023 data breach. Attackers were able to access user accounts and their data using stolen login credentials, because at the time 23andMe did not require that users set up two-factor authentication, which the ICO says violated the UK's data protection law. The company has since mandated this protection for all users. More than 155,000 UK residents had their data stolen in the breach, according to the ICO, which said that 23andMe 'did not have additional verification steps for users to access and download their raw genetic data' when the breach occurred.
Al Bawaba
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Iran hacks Israeli home security cameras in intelligence operation
Published June 20th, 2025 - 06:26 GMT ALBAWABA - Bloomberg reported that Iran has been breaking into private home security cams all over Israel to get real-time information. The war between Iran and Israel is now in its second week. The story makes me worry again about how protection holes are being used during current Franco, who used to be the deputy head of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, went on public radio to tell people: "Shut down your home security cameras or change your passwords immediately." This was in response to recent Iranian ballistic missile attacks that damaged several high-rise buildings in Tel who is now the CEO of cybersecurity crisis company Code Blue, said that Iranian agents have been trying to get into internet-connected surveillance systems over the past few days to check how accurate rocket hits are and make plans for future attacks. The conflict between Israel and Iran has spread to online, where attacks are getting stronger along with real attacks. A group of hackers supporting Israel called Predatory Sparrow said they were behind recent hacks that shut down a major Iranian bank and got into a local bitcoin exchange. In reaction, IRIB, Iran's state television, said that Israel had started a large-scale hack on Iran's most important assets. As part of Iran's strategy operations, the National Cyber Directorate of Israel stated that there have been more efforts to break into linked devices, especially security cams. A spokesman said, "These attempts have been going on all through the war and are happening more often now." 🚨🇮🇷💥🇮🇱 Iran has reportedly hacked internet-connected home security cameras across Israel to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence. — Defense Intelligence (@DI313_) June 20, 2025 Israel has officially banned the sharing of video of rocket impacts for security reasons, but some pictures are still making the rounds on social the meantime, Iran has started a campaign against what it sees as sabotage networks inside the country that it says are linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. The Iranian government recently said that they had seized 14 drones, found secret companies that made drones, and stopped cars carrying robotic aircraft in several people were arrested in Lorestan Province on suspicion of working as Mossad spies. They were accused of sharing anti-government material online and stirring up Iranian intelligence broke up what they thought was an explosives production cell that was working in Alborz and Isfahan Provinces. The cell was apparently led by a Mossad agent who was caught in with its military and defense measures, Iran has had strict rules on the internet ever since the fighting started. Access to a lot of websites has been blocked in whole or in part. The government has told people to use connected gadgets less and be aware of possible digital weaknesses. These events show that the online aspect of the conflict between Iran and Israel is getting worse. The two countries are now at war on physical, digital, and mental fronts. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's government says it shut down internet to protect against cyberattacks
Earlier this week, virtually everyone in Iran lost access to the internet in what was called a 'near-total national internet blackout.' At the time, it was unclear what happened or who was responsible for the shutdown, which has severely limited Iranians' means to get information about the ongoing war with Israel, as well as their ability to communicate with loved ones inside and outside of the country. Now, Iran's government has confirmed that it ordered the shutdown to protect against Israeli cyberattacks. 'We have previously stated that if necessary, we will certainly switch to a national internet and restrict global internet access. Security is our main concern, and we are witnessing cyberattacks on the country's critical infrastructure and disruptions in the functioning of banks,' Fatemeh Mohajerani, Iran's government spokesperson, was quoted as saying in a local news story. 'Many of the enemy's drones are managed and controlled via the internet, and a large amount of information is exchanged this way. A cryptocurrency exchange was also hacked, and considering all these issues, we have decided to impose internet restrictions.' Mohajerani referred to the hacks on Bank Sepah and Iranian cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex. In both cases, a group of hackers called Predatory Sparrow (also known in Farsi as 'Gonjeshke Darande') claimed responsibility and said it was attacking Iranian organizations to hurt the regime. Predatory Sparrow is a mysterious group that purports to be a group of pro-Israel hacktivists, which has had a lot of success disrupting key services in Iran, like gas stations and steel plants. Everyday Iranians, in and outside of the country, are suffering from the internet shutdown in the midst of Israeli bombardments. Amir Rashidi, Director of cyber security and digital rights at Miaan Group, told TechCrunch that his family evacuated Tehran as they lived in a neighborhood that the Israeli government warned it was going to target. 'I haven't heard from them in two days, but someone is supposed to update me. I hope everything is okay,' Rashidi said. It's not just the internet. All forms of communication from outside to inside the country have been cut off — even phone calls. If you try to call from outside, the phone won't ring inside, and you'll hear a meaningless recorded message on your end.' Nariman Gharib, an Iranian activist and independent cyber-espionage investigator who lives in the U.K., said that a small group of people are able to get online because they know how to use virtual private servers as proxies, or 'get lucky with their ADSL connections, since there are some disruptions in the network.' 'There aren't that many people able to get online,' Gharib told TechCrunch. 'My friends are tech-savvy, so they can bypass the restrictions, but generally, it's very difficult because we have a complete internet shutdown in the country.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Pro-Israel hackers nab $90 million from Iranian crypto exchange - then burn it all in symbolic blockchain move
An Israeli operatives-linked hacking group known as Predatory Sparrow , also known as Gonjeshke Darande , claimed that it stole over $90 million from Iran's largest crypto exchange, Nobitex , only to destroy the money instead of keeping it, so as to send a political message, as per a report. Israeli-Linked Hackers Strike Iranian Crypto Exchange The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, and the hackers made their motives clear as the group posted on social media platform X, 'These cyberattacks are the result of Nobitex being a key regime tool for financing terrorism and violating sanctions,' quoted Fortune. Hackers didn't keep a single cent Crypto analytics firm Elliptic revealed that instead of cashing out the $90 million of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and over 100 different cryptocurrencies that Predatory Sparrow raided, the hacking group chose just to destroy, 'burn' in crypto parlance, the funds, as they wanted to send a political message, according to the report. ALSO READ: Circle stock soars again as Senate passes groundbreaking Stablecoin Bill, analysts say it's still a Buy Why the Hack Was Meant to Send a Message As per Fortune, the blockchain addresses, or locations in a database that record how much money someone has, are usually randomly generated, which usually consist of a garbled string of numbers and letters. However, for this operation, Predatory Sparrow sent the hacked funds to addresses that included the phrase 'F***iRGCTerrorists,' where IRGC refers to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , a branch of the Iranian army, reported Fortune. Live Events The lead crypto threat researcher at Elliptic, Arda Akartuna, explained that 'To generate addresses with so many specific terms inside it would require so much computing power that you're not going to do it within any reasonable lifetime,' as quoted in the report. Akartuna pointed out that, 'So, it seems to have been more of a symbolic hack, as opposed to one where the intention is financial,' quoted Fortune. Nobitex responds While, Nobitex wrote on its X account after the hack, saying, 'The vast majority of assets are stored in cold wallets and were not impacted,' as quoted in the report. FAQs Who carried out the hack on Nobitex? A group called Predatory Sparrow, believed to be linked to Israeli intelligence, claimed responsibility. What did the hackers do with the money? They destroyed it as they 'burned' the funds, instead of profiting from the theft. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
NDTV
2 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Pro-Israel Hackers Steal $90 Million In Iranian Crypto Heist, Then Lose All
A pro-Israel hacking group on Wednesday drained over $90 million worth of cryptocurrency from an Iranian exchange. But multiple crypto tracking firms believe that Gonjeshke Darande, or 'Predatory Sparrow' in Farsi, lost all of the proceeds from the heist after reportedly 'burning' them in the process. The funds are now inaccessible after they were stored in 'vanity addresses' for which they do not have the cryptographic keys, The Guardian reported. On June 18, the group said it hacked the Nobitex exchange, a day after claiming they destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic. Cryptocurrencies such as Doge, Ethereum and Bitcoin were taken from digital wallets on the Iranian exchange Nobitex, which has been connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to crypto tracking firm Elliptic, over $90 million in cryptocurrency was transferred from Nobitex crypto wallets to hacker addresses. The stolen funds were routed to addresses containing some variation of the term 'F*ckIRGCterrorists'. In a social media post on X, Predatory Sparrow confirmed that it had targeted Nobitex and later released its source code. 'Predatory Sparrow would not have the private keys for the crypto addresses they sent the Nobitex funds to, and have effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message,' Elliptic said. Predatory Sparrow is frequently reported in Israeli media as having Israeli connections, although there has been no official proof of the hackers' identity or nationality. 'Although there is no confirmation yet that the funds were moved by Predatory Sparrow, the hack appears to be motivated by the recent escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran,' Elliptic added. Nobitex claims to have over 7 million users and is Iran's main cryptocurrency exchange. Past investigations by independent reporters have revealed linkages between Nobitex and IRGC-linked ransomware operatives and individuals close to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. The attack occurred amid growing tensions between Israel and Iran, with the two countries exchanging missile strikes, targeting crucial military installations. On Thursday, the US said it would wait for another two weeks before getting directly involved in the conflict, while Russia warned Israel against targeting the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Earlier, President Donald Trump said his patience was running out with Iran. He issued threats to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who then hit back, saying any intervention from the US would result in 'irreparable damage.'
