Predatory Sparrow Claims Responsibility: "We Did It"
Cryptocurrencies 'Burned' After Transfer, Rendering Them Unusable
As armed conflict continues between Israel and Iran, the cyber war between the two countries is also intensifying. On June 18 (local time), a pro-Israel hacking group hacked Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange and stole assets worth at least $90 million (123.6 billion won).
On this day, the IT news outlet TechCrunch reported that Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a hacking attack, resulting in the outflow of funds from its online hot wallet. Nobitex stated, "We detected unauthorized access to the wallets used to store part of our infrastructure and customers' cryptocurrencies," adding, "We are investigating the incident, and our website and app will be unavailable for the time being."
According to publicly available data, the hackers transferred assets worth at least $90 million (123.6 billion won) through multiple transactions. The stolen cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple, and Solana. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic explained that the hackers sent the stolen cryptocurrencies to inaccessible wallets and then 'burned' them, effectively making the funds unusable. Nobitex has over 10 million customers.
The pro-Israel hacking group 'Predatory Sparrow' claimed responsibility for the hack on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The group stated, "We targeted Nobitex because the Iranian regime supports terrorist financing and evades international sanctions through cryptocurrencies and other means." The organization first appeared in 2021, but its backers remain unidentified. Until now, the group has carried out cyberattacks against major Iranian institutions, engaging in activities that align with Israel's interests.
On the same day, Iran's state-run media outlet IRIB reported that Israel is waging a "large-scale cyber war" to cripple Iran's digital infrastructure amid ongoing military clashes. On June 17, a hacker group associated with Israel launched a cyberattack against Iran's state-owned Sepah Bank, destroying its data. The hacker group GonjeshkeDarande announced on X, "We carried out a cyberattack that destroyed the Sepah Bank data belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran." The group claimed, "Sepah Bank has been an institution that, by circumventing international sanctions, has used Iranian citizens' money to fund the regime's terrorist proxy forces, ballistic missile program, and military nuclear program." Sepah Bank, Iran's largest state-owned bank, is included on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list due to its links to nuclear and missile programs.
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