Israeli hackers breach Iranian TV, urging Iranians to rise up in protest

Iran's state TV (IRIB) was hijacked briefly by Israeli hackers, airing footage of "Woman, Life, Freedom” protests from 2022. The visuals displayed were of women tearing off their hijab and cutting their hair in defiance, followed by a voice-over urging the public to rise and take to the streets against the regime. A logo linked to the IDF's ‘Operation Rising Lion’ also appeared on the screen.

Iranian state television later warned the viewer that this was “due to cyberattacks carried out by the Zionist enemy that is disrupting the satellite transmission.”

The footage was from the protest of 2022, against the regime over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. According to the reports by the BBC, the protest and the violent crackdown that followed led to the death of more than 500 individuals.

Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack. Though Jonathan Harounoff, Israeli UN spokesperson, shared the video of the hijack from his social media handle on X.

This highlights the psychological warfare by Israel to amplify the anti-regime voices in Iran. A new front combining cyberattacks with military attacks to topple the Iranian regime. It exposed the vulnerability of the IRIB to external signal interference.

However, this trend is not new; there have been numerous instances of cyber attacks in Iran linked to Israeli actors. There had been reports by Iranian local media people of being unable to withdraw money from ATMs operated by Sepah Bank. Israeli hacker group “Predatory Sparrow” took responsibility for the attack. Notably, this group was also involved in an attack on the Iranian fuel infrastructure and military-linked industries.