Iran-Supported Hackers Take Responsibility for Spotify Cyberattack, Citing Retaliation for Khamenei's Killing

A hacker collective aligned with Iran has taken credit for launching a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault on Spotify's streaming service Tuesday, as detailed in a McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security analysis.

Outages were noted by Spotify users on Wednesday, with the institute's findings referencing Downdetector data.

Spotify's official support channel directed inquiries to a company webpage statement: "We've received some reports mentioning that the app, support site, and the Web Player are slow or not working properly. This is being investigated."

The perpetrators, known as the Islamic Cyber Resistance in Iraq-313 Team, boasted of infiltrating Spotify and declared on Telegram that "the hand of revenge will reach the killers of Imam Khamenei." They described executing a large-scale cyber operation against Spotify's core servers, resulting in severe website disruptions and total app shutdowns, per the institute's documentation.

Threatening WhatsApp Messages Target Israelis, Suspected Iranian Hacker Origin

On Monday, numerous Israelis across the nation received ominous WhatsApp notifications from seemingly authentic business profiles, like those of bakeries or shops - though these were compromised or fabricated by intruders.

Israel's National Cyber Directorate reviewed the incidents and linked the tactics to the Iranian-affiliated Handala group, notorious for blending digital strikes with intimidation campaigns aimed at eroding public confidence.

Crafted in English with pointed political and military allusions, the alert stated: "Netanyahu, leader of the Epstein cult, is trying to maintain his position of authority by committing another act of reckless foolishness. This is a warning to you, the Jewish residents of the occupied territories: Prepare for a barrage of Sayyid Majid missiles if you do not put an end to this foolishness. You will soon be spending weeks in your shelters, so stock up now. Hack Handala."

Iranian Hacktivists and Hezbollah Release Purported IDF Egoz Officer List

Sunday saw the Iranian proxy hacktivist outfit Handala disclose details on several dozen veterans and reservists from the IDF's elite Egoz unit, falsely branding them as 60 high-ranking officers.

The group posted on its site that these individuals were now in the crosshairs of "resistance shadows."

Despite the claims, the 48 listed were primarily former soldiers and part-timers, many of whom had publicly shared their Egoz ties on platforms like LinkedIn, pursuing civilian professions post-conscription.

The highest rank among them was a non-commissioned officer.

Contributions from Dr. Itay Gal and Michael Starr.