FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2025
Imminent Iranian Cyber Retaliation Following U.S. Strikes on Nuclear Facilities
Washington, D.C. — In the wake of direct U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities just two days ago, cybersecurity experts are warning of a new and imminent threat: coordinated cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, prepared and pre-positioned by Iranian proxies under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Iran doesn’t need to fire a missile to bring chaos to American soil,” said James Hess, CEO of Unknown Cyber and a former Cyber Fusion Intelligence Officer with the U.S. Army Reserve. “They’ve already penetrated our infrastructure through malware, stolen credentials, and backdoor access—and they’ve been preparing for a moment just like this.”
Cyber as a Weapon of Asymmetric Warfare
Iran’s cyber program has evolved from website defacements into a strategic weapon of statecraft, wielded by state-backed groups like APT33, APT34, and APT35 (aka “Charming Kitten”). These are not loose criminal organizations. They are IRGC-aligned units, operating with Tehran’s explicit blessing to retaliate without crossing the line into conventional war.
In a newly published feature titled “The Hidden Front: Iran, Cyber Warfare, and the Looming Threat to U.S. Critical Infrastructure”, Hess lays out how Iran’s cyber doctrine is designed to instill fear and instability, targeting the civilian infrastructure most critical to daily life: water treatment facilities, power grids, hospitals, and supply chains.
“Iran plays the long game,” Hess writes. “They infiltrate quietly, wait patiently, and strike when geopolitical tension is at its peak. That peak is now.”
https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/the-hidden-front-iran-cyber-warfare-and-the-looming-threat-to-u-s-critical-infrastructure/
