The cyber front lines are becoming more dangerous and destructive as geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel climb. Iran’s financial system represents the most recent victim.

Believed to be connected to Israel’s military or intelligence system, a hacker group known as Predatory Sparrow started two separate but strongly linked cyberattacks this week. Their targets are Sepah Bank, among the main financial institutions in Iran, and Nobitex, the biggest bitcoin exchange in the nation.

The attacks had no goal of access or money theft. Rather, they succeeded since they were more about disturbance and destruction.

Predatory Sparrow went to its X account on Wednesday to take ownership for the first attack. They charged Nobitex with supporting efforts by the Iranian government to fund terrorism all around the Middle East by means of a bypass of international sanctions. Blockchain analytics company Elliptic claims that over $90 million worth of digital assets were transferred to addresses set aside to specifically destroy them after the exchange was shut down.

These were not average crypto wallets.

The addresses—vanity wallets with inflammatory names like “FuckIRGCterrorists”—are created without any thought for rehabilitation. Once crypto reaches there, it is gone permanently. Elliptic verified there was no typical crypto theft. That was a calculated political protest.

“It’s quite rare to see hackers destroy digital assets on this scale,” Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson said. “They intended not to make money. They were communicating.

The second strike hit quickly.

Claiming they had erased “all” of Sepah Bank’s data, Predatory Sparrow then launched a cyberattack on the institution. To bolster their assertion, they published records implying Sepah was closely collaborating with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

One paper seemed to show military contracts and bank-Iran defense establishment financial coordination. Their warning alongside the records was terrifying. “Exercise caution: Your long-term financial situation suffers when you support the instruments of the government for avoiding sanctions and fund its nuclear program and ballistic missiles. Who else comes next?

Apparently, the website of Sepah Bank went down soon after the attack. The bank has not issued any public comments even though it has subsequently returned online. But Nobitex is still offline and its managers have not responded.

These attacks have major ramifications.

Based in Sweden and founded DarkCell, Hamid Kashfi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher, said he has confirmed from sources inside Iran that Sepah’s online banking systems and ATMs are down, so affecting thousands of common people. “There’s definitely no doubt,” Kashfi said. “There is actual chaos here. This influences daily life, not only about overthrowing the government.

Kashfi underlined that Sepah Bank is pillar of Iran’s civilian economy even if it might support military operations. The aftermath has made it difficult for regular Iranians to pay bills, access their money, or take cash out.

The increasing list of strikes on Iran by Predatory Sparrow is unlike anything the area has experienced. The group has blamed thousands of gas station systems for being disabled, Iran’s national railway network for collapsing, and in 2022 launching a cyberattack on a steel mill resulting in molten steel leaking out and igniting a fire. That attack almost killed factory workers.

Although they present themselves as a local resistance group, experts generally agree that the group most certainly works with support—or at least consent—from Israeli security agents.

Chief analyst for Google’s threat intelligence team John Hultquist cautions that this is more than just hacktivism—this is cyberwarfare with actual repercussions. “This group distinguishes itself since it can fulfill its promises. They are willing and have the means to act.

These strikes might only signal the start of a new chapter in modern conflict, one in which digital assaults can bring nations to a stop without firing a single bullet, given Middle Eastern tensions at a boiling point.

There has never been a thinner line separating cyberwar from actual war. Many are also wondering, as Iran recovers from these blows: who—and what—will Predatory Sparrow target next?