On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and several other banks were hit by a significant cyberattack, leading to major disruptions in Iran's banking system, according to Iran International. Hours after the report emerged, it has yet to be corroborated by additional sources or commented on by Iranian authorities.
Iran International, a London-based anti-regime outlet, described the incident as potentially one of the largest cyberattacks ever targeting Iranian state infrastructure. The report highlights that hackers may have accessed sensitive bank and credit card details of millions of Iranians. Babak Itzhaki, the outlet’s Israel correspondent, claims that the Iranian government has been attempting to conceal the breach and anticipates a denial from the regime.
The cyberattack reportedly paralyzed all banking computer systems in Iran, and resulted in stolen data. The incident is seen as a possible message from Western countries, demonstrating the vulnerabilities of Iran's digital systems.
This follows a previous significant cyberattack last December, which damaged many of Iran's gas stations and was attributed by the Iranian government to Israel and the US. In that attack, a note was reportedly found on Iranian ATMs, stating that funds had been diverted to war and corruption, and apologizing for the inconvenience.
