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Iran is facing a severe internet blackout, affecting more than 90 million people, as the conflict with the United States and Israel continues.
The country has now spent more than 48 hours with a near-total internet blackout, with connectivity at about 1% of normal levels, according to data from independent internet monitoring group NetBlocks posted at 2:35 a.m. ET on Monday.
NetBlocks blamed the power outages on a nationwide internet shutdown “imposed by the regime,” but the government has not commented.
“Government shutdowns have been a go-to tactic for the regime, with the previous instance in January lasting several weeks and concealing serious human rights violations,” NetBlocks said.
The power outages in January came amid widespread protests across the country. Iran has a history of initiating internet shutdowns during civil wars and conflicts.
Internet analyst Doug Madley said in a post on X that the small amount of internet activity could be due to the government’s new whitelist system, which makes exceptions for groups loyal to the government.
US and Israeli cyber attacks
The report also suggests that US and Israeli attackers carried out cyberattacks against Iran’s internet infrastructure along with the airstrikes.
According to a report by Reuters, U.S. and Israeli officials have targeted multiple Iranian government-aligned news websites with hacking and cyberattacks.
The report added that BadeSaba Calendar, a popular religious calendar app with over 5 million downloads, was also compromised and displayed a warning urging the military to “lay down arms and join the people” and declared that “the time for reckoning has come.”
U.S. Cyber Command did not respond to a request for comment. CNBC was unable to reach BadeSaba’s owner for comment.
In January, Iranian state television was reportedly hacked to briefly broadcast a speech by US President Donald Trump and the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, calling on the people to revolt.
Cyber retaliation?
As Iran retaliates with its own strikes and drone strikes against U.S. and allied targets in the Middle East, some analysts have warned that Iranian-aligned groups may also resort to cyberattacks.
In a statement shared with CNBC, Adam Myers, head of counter-adversary operations at CrowdStrike, said the company has “already observed activity consistent with Iranian-aligned threat actors and hacktivist groups conducting reconnaissance and launching cyber attacks.”
“These actions are often preceded by more offensive operations,” he said.
“In past conflicts, Tehran’s cyber adversaries have operated in alignment with broader strategic objectives, increasing pressure and visibility on targets such as energy, critical infrastructure, finance, telecommunications, and healthcare.”
