Electronic banking services have been severely disrupted after another cyberattack on several state banks in Iran, Iranian media outlets reported on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the three affected banks - Melli, Saderat and Tejarat - temporarily had to shut down their customers’ card services nationwide, meaning online payments were not possible. This was intended to prevent unauthorized access and ensure the security of customers’ assets, the IT department of the Banking Coordination Council said, according to the Shargh online news website.
Experts are currently working to restore operations as quickly as possible, it said. However, the council was unable to provide more detailed information. Private banks in the country are not affected by the attacks.
A cyberattack in mid-June disrupted four major state banks, with online payments and numerous cash machines in the capital Tehran stopping working.
"A silent war is unfolding and Iran is under cyberattack," the Iranian hacker group Black Wolves said on its Telegram channel at the time, claiming responsibility for the attack.
Back in 2022, during the women’s protests, there was a major hack targeting Iran’s central bank. The surveillance cameras of the notorious Evin prison in Tehran were also hacked. Published footage showed violent assaults by prison staff on political prisoners.
The hacker attacks are regarded as a form of digital protest against the Islamic system of government in Iran.
