Suspected Israeli hackers claim to destroy data at state-owned Bank Sepah

An anti-Iranian govt hacking group with potential ties to Israel and a track record of destructive cyberattacks on Iran claimed in social media posts Tuesday it had destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah.

The group - known as Gonjeshke Darande, or "Predatory Sparrow" - hacked the bank because they accused it of helping fund Iran's military, according to one of the messages posted online. The bank's website was offline on Tuesday. Customers were having problems accessing their accounts, according to Israeli media. "Disrupting the availability of this bank's funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there," Rob Joyce, the former top cybersecurity official at NSA, said in a post on X.Israel has never acknowledged it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as "Israel-linked". Reuters