Cybersecurity

Iran-Israel Conflict Spreads to Hacks on Banks, Crypto

A poster bearing the image of Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC Hossein Salami, displayed in front of a Bank Sepah branch in Tehran on June 17.

Photographer: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images

The conflict between Israel and Iran is spilling over into the digital world, inflaming a decades-long campaign of hacks and espionage between two nations renowned for their cyber prowess.

On Tuesday, a pro-Israel hacking group claimed responsibility for a disruptive cyberattack against a major Iranian bank, and Iran’s state-run IRIB News reported that Israel had launched a full-scale cyberattack on the country’s critical infrastructure. Then on Wednesday, the pro-Israel hackers announced a new breach targeting an Iranian crypto exchange.