Internet access in Iran has been severely disrupted as all of its geopolitical tensions with Israel have escalated into cyberspace. Iranian government officials confirmed on Tuesday that these internet curbs were completely intentional and described them as a necessary defensive measure. The government stated they were to “maintain network stability” amid a recent series of alleged Israeli cyberattacks against their infrastructure. Network data from internet watchdogs NetBlocks and Cloudflare Radar has confirmed a sharp drop in the country’s internet connectivity. Later on Wednesday, the organization NetBlocks described the situation in the country as being a “near-total internet blackout” for many citizens.
These restrictive measures by the Iranian government follow a significant cyberattack claimed by a pro-Israel hacking group called Predatory Sparrow.
This group targeted an Iranian bank earlier this week, reportedly causing outages in account access, withdrawals, and also various card payments. On Wednesday, the group also claimed full responsibility for a separate attack on the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange known as Nobitex. They stated they would publish the platform’s source code and also its various data from its internal network within 24 hours. The hackers have described the Nobitex exchange as being “a tool for financing terrorism and for violating international sanctions.”
While Iran’s cybersecurity authorities have not directly addressed these latest incidents, local media quoted some officials about the situation. They have been accusing Israel of launching what they are calling a “massive cyber war” against the country’s entire digital infrastructure. Iranian government officials and all of their security personnel have also reportedly been barred from using any internet-connected devices. This is potentially to prevent any further surveillance or successful hacking attempts against them by any of their foreign adversaries. In addition to these internet disruptions, landline telephone services have reportedly been restricted from making or receiving any international calls.
Access to many foreign websites has also appeared to be blocked.
The Iranian state television network has also urged its residents to immediately delete the popular WhatsApp messaging application from their devices. They have alleged, without providing any evidence, that the Meta-owned application was collecting user data on behalf of the nation of Israel. WhatsApp has strongly denied these accusations in a statement, saying, “We are concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked.” The company also firmly stated that they do not provide any kind of bulk information or user data to any government in the world. This entire digital conflict is unfolding behind the scenes as Israel and Iran are also trading significant missile attacks.
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