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A pro-Israel hacker group claimed responsibility for the attack on the same day that Israel claimed Iran had attempted a cyberattack on one of its hospitals.
Iran has been hit with a massive cyberattack that has shut down the majority of its petrol stations nationwide.
The country’s oil minister Javad Owji told Iranian state TV that roughly 70pc of the Iran’s petrol stations were disrupted and that outside interference was a possible cause, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, a hacker group widely reported to be linked to Israel has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The group Gonjeshke Darande – which reportedly means Predatory Sparrow – shared details of the attack on both Telegram and X yesterday (18 December). The group claimed responsibility for shutting down most of Iran’s petrol pumps and said it was in response to the “aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region”.
The hacker group shared images as proof to support the claim that it was behind the disruption. The group claims these photos include fuel station IDs, payment system information and other pieces of information taken during the attack. The group also addressed the Iran’s leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei and said “playing with fire has a price”.
This hacker group has claimed responsibility for multiple cyberattacks against Iran in recent years. Last year, the group claimed one of its hacks caused a fire at a steel factory in Iran.
Reuters said it interviewed a representative of the hacker group in October, who said Iran was being targeted due to its support of Hamas. Meanwhile, The Times of Israel reports that the hacker group is believed to be linked to Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate.
The attack on Iran comes shortly after Israel claimed that Iran and Hezbollah attempted a cyberattack on one of its hospitals.
Israel’s National Cyber Directorate released a statement yesterday that claimed this attack aimed to disrupt the hospital’s operations last month. The statement claimed Iran orchestrated the cyberattack with involvement from Hezbollah.
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