It can be noticed that it is very rare for hackers those who operate within the digital world to cause damage in the physical world. But a cyber-attack like the one on a steel maker in Iran which was conducted two weeks ago would be considered as one of those significant and troublesome moments.

HIGHLIGHTS
It was an attack on a steel maker in Iran was conducted two weeks ago
Predatory Sparrow were the hackers who attacked the Iranian steel makers
Iran was witnessed as the victim of a spate of recent cyber-attacks

A group of hackers referred to as Predatory Sparrow had claimed that it was they who had planned the attack they even said that it caused a major fire, and had released a video to back up their story. These hackers group, Predatory Sparrow is also known by its Persian name, Gonjeshke Darande. In response to some acts of “aggression” which the Islamic Republic carried out, they mentioned that this attack was one among the three attacks which it carried out against Iranian steel makers on this 27th June.

The video of the incident on the CCTV footage showed that factory workers were leaving the plant before a machine starts spewing liquid steel and fire. The video ends with individuals who were pouring water on the fire with hoses. In another video that got viral online, the factory employees were detected shouting for firefighters to be called and describing the damages to equipment.

Well, the hacker group has started sharing gigabytes of information as well and they have claimed that they have stolen them from the companies which include confidential emails.

Predatory Sparrow had posted on their Telegram page that 'These companies are subject to international sanctions and had continued their operations despite of the restrictions. These cyber-attacks were carried out carefully to guard innocent people.'

This was the last sentence that has pricked the ears of the cyber-security world.

Also Read: Meta, has taken down fake accounts based in Iran that were targeting Instagram users in Scotland.

The hackers were clearly aware of the fact that they are going to put the lives of people in danger but it appears that they were at pains to make sure that the factory floor was empty before they launched their attack. Well, they were equally desperate to make sure everybody knew how careful they have been in the factory.

Such things led many into the deep thoughts of whether Predatory Sparrow is a skilled and tightly regulated team of state-sponsored military hackers, who might even be obligated to make out risk assessments before they would launch an operation.

Iran has been seen as a victim of a spate of recent cyber-attacks that could have an impact in the real world but not as serious as this.

According to Emily Taylor, Editor of the Cyber Policy Journal 'If this would end up to be a state sponsored cyber-attack inflicting physical or within the war studies jargon 'kinetic' damage then this might be massively significant.'

Since then there are only a few confirmed cases of physical injury from this massive attack by the hackers.

Also Read: Nagpur’s Institute of Science’s Website Aimed by Malaysian Hackers, Reconditioning in Progress