Cyberattacks are increasingly being used alongside conventional military actions in the ongoing conflict involving Iran, with both state-linked actors and loosely organised hacker groups targeting systems in the United States and Israel.
A recent incident involving Stryker illustrates the scale of this activity. On March 11, the company confirmed that a cyberattack had disrupted parts of its global network. Employees across several offices reportedly encountered login screens displaying the symbol of Handala, a group believed to have links to Iran. The attack affected systems within Microsoft’s environment, although the full extent of the disruption and the timeline for recovery remain unclear.
Handala has claimed responsibility for the operation, stating that it exploited Microsoft’s cloud-based device management platform, Intune. According to data from SOCRadar, the group alleged it remotely wiped more than 200,000 devices across 79 countries. These claims have not been independently verified, and attempts have been made to seek confirmation from Microsoft. The group described the attack as retaliation for a missile strike in Minab, Iran, which reportedly killed more than 160 people at a girls’ school.
This breach is part of a broader surge in cyber activity following Operation Epic Fury, with multiple pro-Iranian actors directing attacks against American and Israeli systems.
State-linked groups target essential systems
A cybersecurity assessment indicates that several groups associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including CyberAv3ngers, APT33, and APT55, are actively targeting critical infrastructure in the United States.
These operations focus on industrial control systems, which are specialised computers used to manage essential services such as electricity grids, water treatment plants, and manufacturing processes. In some instances, attackers have gained access by using unchanged default passwords, allowing them to install malicious software capable of interfering with or taking control of these systems.
CyberAv3ngers has reportedly accessed industrial machinery in this way, while APT33 has used commonly reused passwords to infiltrate accounts at US energy companies. After gaining entry, the group attempts to weaken safety mechanisms by inserting malware into operational systems. APT55, meanwhile, has focused on cyber-espionage, targeting individuals connected to the energy and defence sectors to gather intelligence for Iranian operations.
Other groups linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, including MuddyWater and APT34, are also involved in these campaigns. MuddyWater has targeted telecommunications providers, oil and gas companies, and government organisations. It functions as an initial access broker, meaning it breaks into networks, collects login credentials, and then passes that access to other attackers.
Handala has also claimed additional operations beyond the Stryker incident. These include deleting more than 40 terabytes of data from servers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and breaching systems linked to Verifone in Israel. However, Verifone has stated that it found no evidence of any compromise or service disruption.
Cyber operations are also being carried out by the United States and Israel.
General Dan Caine stated on March 2 that US Cyber Command was one of the first operational units involved in Operation Epic Fury. He said these efforts disrupted Iran’s communication and sensor networks, leaving it with reduced ability to monitor, coordinate, or respond effectively. He did not provide further operational details.
On March 13, Pete Hegseth confirmed that the U
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