Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was targeted by the Gonjeshke Darande group, resulting in a $90 million loss. The attackers exhibited political motives and the funds were irretrievably burned.
Nature of the Attack
The Gonjeshke Darande group, also known as Predatory Sparrow, executed their first operation in the cryptocurrency sector by attacking Nobitex. All funds were sent to vanity addresses, making retrieval impossible. This act was perceived as a political statement against Iranian groups.
Market Consequences and Reactions
The attack resulted in instability in the Iranian cryptocurrency market, affecting liquidity and user trust. Several exchanges temporarily suspended trading, complicating users' access to their funds. The Central Bank of Iran responded to the incident with trading restrictions, negatively impacting the broader market. Bitcoin (BTC) prices have also declined amid ongoing regional tensions.
Historical Operations of Gonjeshke Darande
Previously, Gonjeshke Darande targeted physical infrastructure, marking a significant digital escalation with this operation. Regulatory responses and potential technological countermeasures are expected as Iran seeks to restore trust and stability post-incident. According to Tom Robinson, Chief Scientist at Elliptic: "But creating vanity addresses with text strings as long as those used in this hack is computationally infeasible. This means that Predatory Sparrow would not have the private keys for the crypto addresses they sent the Nobitex funds to, and have effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message."
The attack on Nobitex highlights the growing significance of cyberwarfare related to cryptocurrencies and its consequences for financial systems and markets. Cryptocurrency users on the exchange face difficulties accessing their funds, while the market enters a period of tension.
