Recently, the dissident group ‘GhyamSarnegouni’ struck several blows to the Iranian regime, exposing internal conflicts, financial mismanagement, and evasive tactics that were supposed to serve the regime’s security. As leaked documents emerge, officials stumble, and state media grapples with the irreparable damage caused.
On May 29, “GhyamSarnegouni,” which translates to “Rise to Overthrow” in Persian, announced their latest actions. They claimed responsibility for taking down several websites and servers associated with the Iranian regime’s presidency. Prior to this, the group had successfully penetrated into the systems and servers of the regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 7. Consequently, the dissidents have steadily released many classified documents that expose the regime’s internal conflicts, its misuse of national resources for terrorism, its methods of evading sanctions, and the fragility of its self-proclaimed status as a “regional power.”
The regime has been profoundly affected by these operations, leaving its officials and tightly controlled state media in a state of disarray. They appear to be struggling to come to terms with the significant impact of these attacks. As a result, they have been making contradictory statements, all the while implicitly acknowledging the irreparable damage they have incurred.
“Hackers have targeted numerous websites in the country, leading to questions regarding why officials prioritize filtering social networks instead of focusing on strengthening the security of government ministry websites and other important institutions. It is worth contemplating the fact that in recent years, hackers have launched attacks on computer systems, CCTV cameras, and even traffic cameras. Interestingly, despite these institutions refusing to disclose their classified information, leaked documents eventually surface, confirming that hackers have accessed their data!” the state-run Arman-e Meli newspaper wrote on June 1.
On May 31, Hassan Hemmati, a member of the parliament’s security commission, initially stated, “It is not yet clear to me whether the presidential website was hacked or not!” He soon contradicted himself adding, “Naturally, we have enemies, and they are trying to attack our document centers,” and emphasized the need for the state’s centers to be immune to such attacks.
Shahriar Heydari, another member of the parliament’s Security Commission, commented on the matter, stating, “The Ministry of Communications and Information takes measures to secure the websites to ensure their security. However, there are instances when these sites can still be vulnerable to hacking.”
According to a report by the state-run Did-e Ban website on May 31, “various government systems, ranging from energy distribution networks to radio and television, CCTV, and prison surveillance cameras, have been individually targeted and hacked over the past one or two years. The hackers have also managed to obtain documents from these systems. In the most recent incident on May 29, the servers of the presidential website were brought down. Despite the General Director of Public Relations of the President’s Office announcing the unveiling of a ‘new version of the site’ the previous week and citing temporary unavailability during a security improvement project, the publication of confidential documents raises concerns about the vulnerability of this site to hacking.”