Asger Risom
Iran’s hackers have remained surprisingly quiet following Israeli and U.S. strikes, leading experts to question whether Tehran’s cyber capabilities are as threatening as once feared.
Despite warnings from U.S. and Israeli officials, Iran’s cyber response to recent military strikes has been muted, raising questions about the Islamic Republic’s digital capabilities.
Following joint Israeli-American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear targets, cybersecurity experts in both nations braced for digital retaliation.
But so far, they report limited activity. “The volume of attacks appears to be relatively low,” said Nicole Fishbein of Israeli cybersecurity firm Intezer. “The techniques used are not particularly sophisticated.”
Modest Threat Despite Early Alarms
Iranian-linked hacker groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli and Western companies.
One group, Handala Hack, alleged a series of breaches, but Reuters could not independently verify their claims.
The group is believed to operate under Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, emerging after the Hamas-led October 2023 assault on Israel, reports Reuters.
Rafe Pilling of British firm Sophos described the operations as a mix of “ineffectual chaos” from genuine hacktivists and overstated successes from more targeted campaigns.
Israel’s Check Point Software tied a recent phishing wave to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, targeting journalists and academics, and even attempting to lure one victim to a face-to-face meeting in Tel Aviv.
Asymmetry in Cyber Warfare
Analysts noted stark contrasts between Iran- and Israel-aligned cyber actors. Israeli hackers reportedly destroyed data at a major Iranian state bank and burned $90 million in crypto assets tied to Iran’s security services.
Meanwhile, Iranian efforts included phishing, minor data destruction, and attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in Chinese-made surveillance cameras—likely to monitor Israeli bomb damage.
U.S. authorities remain cautious. A Homeland Security bulletin warned of elevated cyber threats amid ongoing conflict.
Still, the FBI declined to comment, and Iran’s UN mission did not respond to inquiries.
Yelisey Bohuslavskiy of Red Sense likened Iran’s cyber activity to its missile program: “There is a lot of hot air, a lot of indiscriminate civilian targeting, and—realistically—not that many results.”
