A hacker group says it has obtained documents on the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and will publish them if the government does not stop clampdown on protesters.
The group calling itself the Black Reward claimed on Friday that the internal email system of Iran's Nuclear Power Production and Development Company was hacked.
Black Reward warned that it will publish the data it has obtained within 24 hours unless the Islamic Republic releases all political prisoners and detained protesters.
There has been no reaction from the government so far.
The hacktivist group said the Islamic Republic’s officials well know what impact the release of these hacked data will have on their “sloppy nuclear program.”
“There's no solution but giving in to the popular demands, which means the end of the Islamic Republic,” said Black Reward.
Earlier in the week, the group also announced that it hacked the emails of managers and employees of Press TV, the government’s international English news channel.
Black Reward asked the journalists of this network to be the “voice of the people” while the Islamic Republic is cracking down the anti-government protests.
Several other hacktivist groups including Anonymous launched cyberattacks on government institutions since the beginning of protests to topple the regime.An Iranian cyber group has reportedly hacked the internal email system of Iran’s Nuclear Power Production and Development Company on Friday, demanding the release of detained activists.
Hackers from the group called “Black Reward” have threatened to leak the company’s internal data, according to the group’s Twitter account, cited by Al Arabiya news website.
The group gave the Iranian regime 24 hours to release detained political prisoners and protesters, the report cited the statement issued by the hackers.
They also threatened to publish documents that would affect what they described as the “dirty nuclear project of the Mullahs’ regime.”
Anti-government protests have entered their fifth week in Iran after sweeping the country following the death on September 16 of Mahsa Amini.
Since then, security forces have waged a violent crackdown on protesters around the country, killing scores, injuring hundreds, and detaining several thousand people.
The FBI has warned that the Iranian cyber group Emennet Pasargad is conducting hack-and-leak operations involving a combination of hacking and theft of data.
In a statement released on Thursday, the US agency said that since at least 2020 the group targeted entities primarily in Israel with cyber-enabled information operations that included an initial intrusion, theft and subsequent leak of data followed by amplification through social media and online forums, and in some cases the deployment of destructive encryption malware.
The FBI added that the Iranian group used false-flag campaigns under the guise of multiple personas like hacktivist or cyber-criminal groups. The company, previously known as Eeleyanet Gostar and Net Peygard Samavat, has regularly rebranded to evade US sanctions
The FBI added that the group’s techniques may be used to target US entities, as was the case during their cyber-enabled information operation to attack the 2020 US Presidential election. Saying that the FBI has identified a destructive cyberattack against a US organization, it underlined that the group remains a threat to the US.
On Wednesday, October 19, the US State Department announced a $10-million reward for information about the group’s operations or its members.
Back in February, the US offered up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of two of the group's members for trying to influence and interfere with the 2020 presidential election.
In November 2021, the Treasury Department sanctioned six Iranian officials as well as the company for their involvement in the planned cyberattack.