Iran reported disruptions to gas stations in Tehran including on Monday. The Iranian oil minister confirmed that about 70% of the gas stations in the country were damaged and noted: "At least 30% of the gas stations throughout the country are operating." Following these reports, the Israeli hacker group Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility for a cyber attack that caused disruptions at gas stations in Iran.
"Today we shut down most of the gas stations in Iran in response to Iranian aggression in the region. Khamenei, know that playing with fire has a price. A month ago we warned you that we would make you pay for your provocations. This is just a taste of what's to come that we are able to do," the Israeli hacker group Predatory Sparrow wrote in its message claiming responsibility for the cyber attack, which directly addressed Iran's Supreme Leader.
"As in our previous operations, this attack was carried out in a controlled manner that prevented damage to emergency services. Before the attack, we sent a warning to the emergency services in Iran and made sure not to damage some of the gas stations in the country, even though we had the ability to disable them completely." the message also said.
In addition, the hackers published screenshots with internal information from the Iranian gas companies. "Here is a small taste of what can be found on their network: information about gas stations, details about the payment system, access to the management system of the gas stations," the group wrote.
This is not the first time that the Predatory Sparrow group has taken responsibility for a cyber attack against Iran. About a year and a half ago, the hacker group halted the activity of a large steel plant in the country with a single attack. The group of hackers then published evidence of the damage caused to the factory.
In 2021, Iran reported a cyber attack that caused widespread malfunctions and disruptions at gas stations throughout the country. The number of stations that were shut down was approximately 4,300 stations, about 80% of all stations in Iran. Khamenei's cyber affairs advisor estimated at the time that the attack was carried out by a "foreign country."
