Iran’s crypto exchange market lost $100 million in assets to hackers, triggering a near nationwide internet blackout as the Islamic Republic’s fight with Israel escalates.
The blackouts have carried on into Thursday after the state limited internet access to the public over the cyberattack on Nobitex, Tehran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to Iran’s ministry of Communications.
The pro-Israeli “Predatory Sparrow” hacker group claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing Nobitex of helping Tehran evade Western sanctions and transferring money to Iran’s nuclear program.
“ASSETS LEFT IN NOBITEX ARE NOW ENTIRELY OUT IN THE OPEN,” the group touted on Telegram.
While Nobitex has yet to publicly confirm the attack, the company shut down its app and website to assess “unauthorized access” found on its systems.
The gutting of Nobitex included the thefts of several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and more, according to Andrew Fierman, Chainalysis’ head of national security intelligence.
“[The attack is] particularly significant given the comparatively modest size of Iran’s cryptocurrency market,” he said.
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Predatory Sparrow has previously claimed responsibility for other high-level cyberattacks on Iran, including the 2021 hack that saw the nation’s gas stations come to a halt — as well as the 2022 attack that sparked a large fire at a steel mill.
While Israel has touted the group’s hacks in the past and suggested it had connections with the Jewish state, Jerusalem has never officially acknowledged ties to Predatory Sparrow.
Netblock, a company that tracks global internet access, said the latest internet blackout in Iran is the worst the nation has seen since 2019’s civil unrest.
