Iran crypto exchange hit by hackers, $90 million destroyed

TEHRAN: An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel announced an attack on one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday, destroying nearly $90 million and threatening to expose the platform’s source code.

A group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “Predatory Sparrow,” claimed the attack, making it the group’s second operation in two days. On Tuesday the group claimed to have destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah amid the increasing hostilities and missile attacks between Israel and Iran.

Wednesday’s attack targeted Nobitex, one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations around the world, the hackers claimed in a message posted to its social media channels early on Wednesday.

Nobitex’s website was unavailable on Wednesday. Messages sent to the company’s support channel on Telegram were not returned. Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to requests for comment.

Nobitex said in a post on X that it had pulled its website and app offline as it reviewed “unauthorized access” to its systems.

Gonjeshke Darande is an established hacking group with a history of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting Iran. A 2021 operation claimed by the group caused widespread gas station outages, while a 2022 attack targeting an Iranian steel mill caused a large fire and tangible, offline damage.