ACCORDING to The Financial Times Ltd, Iran’s hackers have been escalating the cyber war against the US and Israel, with operations ranging from sowing fear to stealing intelligence and disrupting targets such as the Stryker medical technology company.
The report notes Handala, a hacking front linked to Iranian intelligence, claimed to have wiped about 200,000 devices and also to have accessed a personal email account belonging to FBI director Kash Patel, though the FBI described the emails as “targeted by malicious actors” and historical in nature. Seedworm has been seen attempting to penetrate US networks since early February, while Israeli authorities say Iran has launched thousands of wiper attacks on Israeli companies, hitting around 50.
Analysts describe Iran as employing a three-tier structure of operators, including IRGC and MOIS-backed units, proxies and volunteers, with some operations coordinated to coincide with auxiliary actions such as mass text messages in Israel. The piece also highlights perceptions that the US and Israel retain more robust offensive capabilities, even as Iran continues to pursue access and disruption across geopolitical fault lines.