Israel-aligned Gonjeshke Darande, also known as Predatory Sparrow, has hit Iran on several occasions before. Credit: dotshock / Shutterstock Israel-aligned hacktivist group, group Gonjeshke Darande — also known as Predatory Sparrow — has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against Iran’s gas stations, which has disrupted 70% of them, according to reports. The attack disrupted Iran’s fuel distribution system, disabling smart cards for subsidized fuel access, leading to widespread station malfunctions and forcing some to sell gasoline at non-subsidized prices. “We, Gonjeshke Darande, carried out another cyberattack today, taking out a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran,” the group wrote on its Telegram channel. “This cyberattack comes in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region. This cyberattack was carried out in a controlled manner to avoid potential damage to emergency services.” Iran’s Petroleum Minister Javad Owji accused Israel and the US of the recent cyberattack, while Iran’s Passive Defence Organization said it is preparing a response. Predatory Sparrow has previously claimed responsibility for several attacks on Iranian infrastructure. The group was responsible for an attack against Iran’s steel industry in 2022, and an attack on the nation’s railways in 2021 as well as an attack on the Iranian Offshore Oil Company and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, according to Check Point Research. In a 2021 report, Check Point Research analyzed the technical nature of Predatory Sparrow’s malware, analyzing its sophisticated cyberattacks on Iranian railways and Syrian infrastructure. Predatory Sparrow, which, according to Check Point Research, appears to be a successor group to another anti-Iran hacktivist collective called Indra, employed complex wiper malware and exploited network vulnerabilities against their targets in the country. Indra also has claimed responsibility for instructions into the Syrian airline Cham Wings. They claimed their hack revealed the movements of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassim Soleimani under an alias, contributing to his identification and subsequent targeting in a 2020 US airstrike, though scholars and analysts cast doubt on the validity of this claim. Revenge for October 7 Shortly after the October 7 attack on Israel, a representative of the group told Reuters it was targeting Iran for its Hamas support and stated its readiness for future assaults and ability to inflict severe, multi-domain damage in response to any offensive actions against the country. “When we will start, the gates of hell will open,” Predatory Sparrow said. Pro-Hamas groups supported by Iran have also hit back at Israel. The recent cyberattack on Israel’s Ziv Medical Center, attributed by the Israel National Cyber Directorate to Iran and Hezbollah, coincides with an uptick in digital disruptions by pro-Hamas groups linked to Iran against Israeli and US targets. The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPD) announced that the smart card system – disabled by Predatory Sparrow’s attack – would be operational again on December 19. Related content news CISA inks 68 tech vendors to secure-by-design pledge — but will it matter? CISA’s pledge drew some big names, but the impact on software security could be limited. Meanwhile the org has extended its comment period on the CIRCIA cyberattack reporting law. By Jon Gold May 10, 2024 4 mins Regulation Technology Industry Security Practices news Google Chrome gets a patch for actively exploited zero-day vulnerability Details of the use-after-free memory vulnerability were not publicly released, but Google says it’s aware an exploit for the bug exists. By Lucian Constantin May 10, 2024 3 mins Threat and Vulnerability Management Zero-day vulnerability Vulnerabilities news Dell data breach exposes data of 49 million customers The company says the breach compromised non-critical customer data and involved no sensitive personal or financial information. By Shweta Sharma May 10, 2024 3 mins Data Breach Hacking feature Social engineering: Definition, examples, and techniques Social engineering is the art of exploiting human psychology, rather than technical hacking techniques, to gain access to buildings, systems, or data. Train yourself to spot the signs. By Josh Fruhlinger May 10, 2024 15 mins Phishing Social Engineering PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe