Bank Sepah

History

2025: ATM shutdown due to massive cyber attack

On June 17, 2025, ATMs stopped operating throughout Iran, and residents had problems with transactions. The reason for the large-scale failure was a hacker attack that affected the systems of Bank Sepah Bank.

According to network sources, the hacker intrusion disrupted customer service, causing difficulties with access to accounts, cash withdrawals and card payments. The disruptions could also affect Iran's gas stations, which rely on Bank Sepah to handle transactions. Several branches of the bank were said to have been closed following the cyber attack, with some government employees and security officials allegedly facing delays in receiving their salaries.

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Фото: therecord.media

The cyber group Gonjeshke Darande, or Predatory Sparrow ("Predatory Sparrow"), allegedly associated with Israel, claimed responsibility for the hack. According to the hackers themselves, they destroyed the bank's infrastructure, which caused malfunctions in the operation of various Bank Sepah systems. This provoked the inoperability of ATMs throughout Iran. In a post on social media site X, the Gonjeshke Darande group thanked the "brave Iranians" for their help in the hack.

Bank Sepah, as of June 17, 2025, does not officially comment on the situation. At the same time, a spokesman for Iran's Central Bank told state-run IRNA that all banking operations were "running smoothly" and services were being provided to customers.

Earlier, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for other high-profile incidents, in particular for cyber attacks aimed at Iran's state-owned steel company, gas stations and fuel distribution systems. Security experts say attacks of this level usually go beyond the capabilities of activist hackers and are more consistent with the actions of specially trained groups.^[1]

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