Iran International, a London-based media platform for the Iranian opposition, has obtained information exposing the identities of the people behind the MuddyWater and Darkbit hacker groups. The groups are affiliated with Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, and have been commiting cyberattacks against targets in Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Iraq, Italy, Russia, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, and others.
According to Iran International, the Darkbit hacker group operates under the command of Amir-Hossein Fard Siahpoush, also known as Parsa Sarrafian, who runs the Ravin Academy, a US-sanctioned school that trains individuals in cyber security and hacking, and recruits from among these trainees for Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Other members of the group include Seyyed Ali Emami, Pouria Kazemabadi Farahani, Ahmadreza Irani, Amin Dadashi and Seyyed Hossein Siadat.
Members revealed of the MuddyWater hacker group include Mohammad Khoshlahn, Younes Valiaei and Mohammad-Reza Khoroush. They serve as liaisons between the group and the Intelligence Ministry.
These Iran affiliated hackers have committed attacks against government organizations, military bodies, educational institutions and communication networks in Jordan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Additionally, they targeted sensitive databases in Mali, Austria, Russia and Bahrain, and carried out repeated attacks on state institutions in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The Darkbit group works under MuddyWater, and reportedly operates out of the same office building in Tehran. According to Iran International, Darkbit is the team in the MuddyWater group that attacks Israeli targets.
Early in 2023, this group carried out a cyber attack against the Technion in Chaifa, and at the beginning of 2024, they claimed to have attacked the systems of the Tel Aviv Municipality, the National Cyber System and the Department of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health. No evidence was presented to back up these claims.
{Matzav.com}
