Digital Retaliation: After Israeli Strikes, Iran Turns to Cyberwarfare

In the predawn hours of June 13, 2025, the Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation Rising Lion—a sweeping military offensive that decimated critical Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. The strikes killed senior Iranian commanders and gutted key defense assets. But as the dust settles in the physical world, a new battlefront is already stirring online.

The cyber aftermath is unfolding rapidly. Iranian state-aligned hackers and sympathetic threat groups are mobilizing in what intelligence sources describe as the early stages of a coordinated digital reprisal.

A Decade-Long Cyber Cold War Boils Over

The roots of this digital conflict trace back to 2010 with the discovery of Stuxnet, a U.S.-Israeli engineered cyberweapon that crippled Iranian uranium centrifuges. Since then, Tehran has aggressively cultivated a sophisticated cyber arsenal. Groups like APT35 (Charming Kitten), APT34 (OilRig), and APT39 (Remix Kitten) have carried out targeted cyber-espionage and sabotage operations across the Middle East and beyond, honing their tools for asymmetric warfare.

In recent years, Israel has borne the brunt of that shift. Iranian cyber units have probed and breached targets ranging from water systems and hospitals to public transit infrastructure—sometimes quietly, sometimes to significant effect.

Yet the fallout from Operation Rising Lion marks a new phase in the conflict. With conventional military retaliation constrained by internal damage and regional pressure, cyber operations are no longer just a tool for disruption—they’re the only card Iran may feel it can play.

Offensive Cyber as Strategic Necessity

Iran’s military command has taken a direct hit. Nearly 20 senior officials, including figures tied to Iran’s nuclear and air defense efforts, were reportedly killed. That loss not only weakens Iran’s operational capacity but undermines its image of strength. According to regional analysts, this erosion of credibility increases the regime's dependence on cyber campaigns to project power and control narratives.

Early signs of escalation are already surfacing.

Threat Groups Stir in the Digital Underground

On encrypted Telegram channels, Iranian-aligned actors wasted no time. Groups such as CyberAv3ngers and Arabian Ghost began claiming responsibility for targeting Israeli civilian infrastructure. Screenshots circulating online purport to show a cyber assault on Tzofar, Israel’s national missile alert system. Elsewhere, the group Mysterious Team Bangladesh posted warnings to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, threatening cyber retaliation if they support Israel.

Such attacks remain largely symbolic for now, but experts warn of a wider campaign to come.

“Cyberattacks are an attractive form of retaliation when traditional military options are limited or politically risky,” said one cybersecurity analyst familiar with Middle East threat groups. “They’re cheap, deniable, and can have real-world consequences.”

What To Expect Next

Iranian state-backed operators are expected to escalate efforts targeting Israeli defense networks, critical infrastructure, and sensitive state data. These attacks may use phishing, social engineering, and zero-day vulnerabilities to breach networks, often via trusted vendors or third-party services. Data theft, ransomware, and wiper malware are all on the table.

Concurrently, Tehran will likely activate its playbook for information warfare. AI-generated personas, botnets, and social media manipulation are expected to flood platforms like Telegram, X, and TikTok with disinformation aimed at undermining public confidence and spreading pro-Iranian narratives.

These influence ops may be amplified by affiliated ideological groups throughout the region, further complicating efforts to contain the narrative battlefield.

Recommendations for Defenders

Israeli organizations—particularly those tied to critical infrastructure—are being urged to move quickly.

• Increase monitoring for indicators of compromise tied to known Iranian APTs.

• Patch systems immediately, especially those exposed to the internet.

• Reinforce phishing defenses, as employees are likely to be targeted in initial access attempts.

• Update incident response plans to reflect nation-state level threats and potential wiper malware deployment.

• Coordinate with media outlets to counter false claims and staged leaks before they go viral.

A Digital War With Real-World Stakes

For Iran, cyberwarfare offers not just vengeance, but visibility—an opportunity to signal resilience to both internal and external audiences. For Israel, it marks the next stage in an already volatile conflict that’s expanding beyond missiles and drones into the cloud, the network, and the algorithm.

This isn’t just a proxy war anymore. It’s a war of proxies—digital and human alike.

As the region teeters between escalation and containment, one thing is clear: the cyber front is no longer a side show. It is the show.