Gonjeshke Darande, also known as Predatory Sparrow, an alleged Israel-aligned hacker group, has crippled Iranian gas station infrastructure, rendering 70% of them inoperable. According to them, the cyberattack was in response to the Islamic Republic’s aggression in the region.
Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji said Monday that the outside breach affected 70 percent of its petrol stations. The fuel outages caused long queues at stations.
Among the documents shared by Israeli hackers are screenshots showing their activity in the Iranian gas station network, which reveals the location of individual stations and payment systems and management systems accessed from the central server.
The attack comes in the wake of escalating attacks by Shia militias against Israelis and US targets in Gaza by Iranian proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Following an invasion by air, land, and sea by Hamas militias on October 7, the organization declared war on Israel, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking 240 hostages. However, Iran maintains that it played no role in Hamas’ terror attack on October 7.
Recent Tweets by Gonjeshke Darande, an Israel-aligned hacker group
“As we mentioned before, we will react against your evil provocations in the region,” Gonjeshke Darande posted in Persian on X.
“A month ago, we warned you that we’re back and that we will impose costs for your provocations. This is just a taste of what we have in store,” the other post reads in English. “Khamenei (supreme leader of Iran), playing with fire has a price.”
“As in our previous operations, this cyberattack was conducted in a controlled manner while taking measures to limit potential damage to emergency services,” hackers said.
A little taste of what can be found on their network:
– Individual gas station information
– Payment system details
– More images captured while in their network
– Gas station management system accessed from each station’s central server— Gonjeshke Darande (@darandegonjeshk) December 18, 2023
The hackers were able to completely disrupt the operation of Iran’s gas stations. Despite this, some stations deliberately remained unaffected to ensure emergency services were available everywhere.
There was no comment from the Israeli government regarding the cyberattacks.
Cyberattacks targeting Iran’s steel industry companies led to the theft of 20GB of data last year, according to Gonjeshke Darande. Another incident, in which the group claimed responsibility, involved hacking Iran’s state railroad company.
According to a state television report, Iran has had a series of industrial accidents in recent years, including fires in oil facilities, petrochemical plants, and industrial centers. Since mid-2020, Iranian military, nuclear, and industrial facilities, including pipelines and refineries, have experienced numerous unexplained explosions and fires. In many cases, the incidents are attributed to outdated technology. According to Hadi Beiginezhad, a member of the Energy Committee in parliament, the authorities had not learned from similar attacks.
For more cybersecurity news and updates, follow us on Cybersecurity – The SOC Labs.
Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The SOC Labs assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.