Hackers released nearly 20G top-secret documents of Iranian steel manufacturing companies, suspected of being behind the scenes of Israel

Predatory Sparrow, the hacker group that attacked three Iranian steel manufacturing companies on June 27, released what it called nearly 20GB of top-secret data on July 7, including company documents that revealed the facilities’ affiliation with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. relation. As soon as the news was released, there was a lot of discussion, and data protection became a hot topic.

In a series of tweets in English and Persian, the group, which calls itself Gonjeshke Darande or Predatory Sparrow, said the 19.76GB file was only the “first part” of the upcoming release. The group also released an image of what appears to be the interior of the steel facility.

CyberScoop has not independently verified the content of the documents posted.

When the group initially claimed the June 27 attack, it released a video that appeared to show damage to equipment at the state-owned Khouzestan Steel Company, one of Iran’s main steel production facilities. Preliminary reports suggest the attack disrupted operations at the plant, but the company and the Iranian government deny it had any significant impact.

In the video, the group includes a message explaining that the companies “are subject to international sanctions and continue to operate despite restrictions.” The group added that the attacks were “carried out with care to protect innocent individuals,” and It was “a response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic”.

Gonjeshke Darande is just one of several names used by the group, the other being Indra. The shady group claims to be independent, but some speculation suggests it may be the work of the Israeli government, given the access required to carry out the attack, the complexity of its operations and messaging during and after the apparent hack.

The report said Israeli military journalists were often briefed informally by senior Israeli officials who suggested Israel was directly responsible for the attack in retaliation for a suspected cyber attack last week when rocket sirens were heard in Jerusalem and Eilat.

Bennett was asked at the meeting about his approach to cyber offense and defense as prime minister and gave a lengthy and thoughtful response.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered an investigation into recent media leaks that “suggested” Israeli military intelligence was responsible for the attack on steel facilities, The Times of Israel reported.

Defense Secretary Benny Gantz ordered his department’s security services on June 30 to investigate recent media leaks that undermined Israel’s “fuzzy policy”, shortly after Hebrew-language television strongly suggested that military intelligence was responsible for the Iranian cyberattack.

Channel 12 News, Channel 13 News and Kan Public Broadcasting reported that IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi recently visited the headquarters of the 8200 intelligence unit and received video after the 27th cyber attack that forced Iran’s state-owned Khuzestan Steel companies shut down.

The dramatic video, which was broadcast online, showed fires burning in the factory and people screaming for help.

Nir Dvori, a military correspondent for Channel 12, said that during his visit to 8200, Kohavi “probably” thanked Israel for the “series of events” that took place in the unit.

In a tweet after reporting the cyberattack, Channel 13’s Or Heller said there was “a lot of red eyes” at 8200 headquarters.

The Israeli Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The group claims to have carried out other digital attacks on key Iranian targets, such as an October 2021 attack that obstructed a state-controlled gas station in Iran, and an August 2021 attack on Iran’s railway system.

In both cases, the group displayed information on the office number of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on gas stations or train timetable displays, some threat intelligence Experts interpret it as trolling.

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