In the midst of the ongoing conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran, U.S. Homeland Security issued a bulletin on Sunday indicating that it anticipates Iranian government-backed hackers conducting attacks against U.S. networks.
Hacktivists and government-linked hackers “routinely target” inadequately secured U.S. networks and internet-connected devices to cause disruption, according to the National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin, which also stated that low-level cyberattacks by hacktivists are “likely.”
The bulletin was released days following a series of U.S. and Israeli air strikes that targeted Iran’s nuclear program.
These strikes appeared to coincide with destructive hacks conducted by a pro-Israel hacking group known as Predatory Sparrow.
The hackers destroyed millions of cryptocurrency held by the country’s largest crypto exchange and took down one of Iran’s top banks.
The Iranian government verified that it had disabled the country’s internet in order to safeguard against cyberattacks following the initial round of Israeli air strikes.
Iran is renowned for its offensive cyber capabilities, which include disruptive cyberattacks that are designed to steal data from businesses and tech giants, often by utilizing known vulnerabilities or stolen passwords, as well as long-running espionage operations that target senior U.S. politicians and other government officials.