Iran says ‘specific foreign country’ behind hacktivist leak of atomic energy emails

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said on Sunday that “a specific foreign country” which it did not name was behind the hacking of an email server a hacktivist group claimed responsibility for.

The group, Black Reward, claimed to have accessed the organization’s documents in statements posted on Twitter and Telegram that included the hashtags #OpIran and #MahsaAmini, which are used in ongoing digital activities targeting the regime.

Black Reward threatened to release stolen information unless the Iranian government released people who had been arrested during the ongoing protests following Amini's death on September 16 while in the custody of the Islamic Republic’s morality police.

Concluding its statement on Telegram on Saturday, Black Reward said the hack was conducted “in the name of Mahsa Amini and for women, life, freedom.”

“We, as a part of the Iranian hacker community and born from among you, unlike Westerners, are not flirting with criminal mullahs, and if we say something, we follow it 100%,” the message said.

Black Reward claimed to be publishing “Iran’s public and private conversations with the International Atomic Energy Agency” which is responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities to ensure they are peaceful.

The group released additional details regarding Iran’s Bushehr power plant, including its management and operational schedules, as well as details about tasks being conducted by Iranian and Russian specialists who were working there, alongside the passports and visas for these individuals.

The AEOI has dismissed the significance of the hack and the stolen information, claiming: “It is obvious that the purpose of such illegal efforts, which are carried out out of desperation, is to attract public attention, create media atmosphere, and psychological operations, and lack any other value.”

The nationwide protests in Iran are among the most significant to have challenged the clerical regime in recent years, featuring widespread disobedience regarding the mandatory wearing of the hijab and even calls of “death to the dictator.”

Anonymous hackers have claimed to be behind attacks on several websites affiliated with the Iranian government conducted in support of the protests. Criminal groups have also been identified attempting to sell what they claim is information stolen from government systems.

Read more: The Record’s Click Here team spoke to a protester about the dangers of using social media and technology while participating in street demonstrations.