The recent joint airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Tehran were not only a matter of military action but also a theater for a new level of cyber warfare. A popular prayer application, widely used across Iran, was exploited to deliver psychological messages alongside the military offensive.
Prayer App Compromised
According to Wired Middle East, the cyber attack leveraged the ‘BadeSaba Calendar,’ a widely downloaded prayer timing app. As the physical strikes began, the app’s notification system was commandeered to send out messages designed to demoralize and destabilize Iranian forces.
Starting at 9:52 AM local time, users received notifications claiming “Help is on the way,” urging Iranian military personnel to abandon their positions. By 10:02 AM, further alerts warned of retribution against oppressive forces, while subsequent messages at 10:14 AM called for a movement towards a liberated Iran.
Analysis of the Cyber Tactic
Cybersecurity experts, as cited by Wired Middle East, suggest that this operation was not a typical criminal act but a meticulously planned nation-state strategy. Morey Haber from BeyondTrust highlighted the need for extensive preparation, indicating that the app’s backend infrastructure was likely compromised well before the strikes.
Despite the scale of the attack, no group has claimed responsibility. As noted by Narges Keshavarznia, a researcher at the Miaan Group, it remains unclear whether this was orchestrated by Israeli intelligence or anti-government Iranian hackers.
Nationwide Internet Disruptions
Concurrently, Iran faced a massive internet blackout, severely restricting digital communication. Wired Middle East reports that national connectivity plummeted to 4% of its usual level, a tactic often employed during national crises.
Furthermore, domestic cloud services like ArvanCloud observed significant connectivity losses, and state media outlets were taken offline, likely due to coordinated cyberattacks. These disruptions impede both civilian communication and the documentation of events.
The unfolding situation underscores the increasing integration of cyber tactics in military operations, highlighting a shift in how conflicts are conducted on the modern battlefield.
