Tehran, June 17 (UNI) A hacktivist group, called the 'Predatory Sparrow', has reportedly launched a cyberattack on Iran’s Bank Sepah -- one of the country’s oldest financial institutions and is said to have ties to its military and its paramilitary group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The group – which is said to be pro-Israel and anti-Iran establishment – claimed that it had “destroyed all data” at Bank Sepah. The claim comes amid reports of widespread banking disruptions in Iran, reports Iran International.
The group, which also goes by its Persian name ‘Gonjeshke Darande’, took to its X handle following the attack and wrote: “Destruction of the infrastructure of the IRGC Bank Sepah.
“We, ‘Gonjeshke Darande’, conducted cyberattacks which destroyed the data of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Bank Sepah.”
“Bank Sepah was an institution that circumvented international sanctions and used the people of Iran’s money to finance the regime’s terrorist proxies, its ballistic missile programme and its military nuclear programme,” it said.
“This is what happens to institutions dedicated to maintaining the dictator’s terrorist fantasies.
“We thank the brave Iranians whose help made this operation possible,” it added.
Several branches of Bank Sepah were closed on Tuesday, and customers told Iran International they were unable to access their accounts.
The disruption has also likely affected Iran’s gas stations, which rely on the bank to process transactions.
Bank Sepah has 1,800 branches in Iran and others in Britain, France, Germany and Italy. The United States has imposed sanctions on Bank Sepah in 2019 after it withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.
Users also reported that cards issued by Kosar and Ansar -- both linked to Iran’s military banks -- were not functioning. Ansar is also under US sanctions.
Iranian authorities have not commented on the outages or the cyberattack. However, IRGC’s Fars news said that the issue at Sepah Bank will be resolved within a few hours.
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