From AP News: WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers backing Tehran have targeted U.S. banks, defense contractors and oil industry companies following American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities — but so far have not caused widespread disruptions to critical infrastructure or the economy.
But that could change if the ceasefire between Iran and Israel collapses or if independent hacking groups supporting Iran make good on promises to wage their own digital conflict against the U.S., analysts and cyber experts say.
The U.S. strikes could even prompt Iran, Russia, China and North Korea to double down on investments in cyberwarfare, according to Arnie Bellini, a tech entrepreneur and investor.
Bellini pointed out that hacking is less expensive that other available options, such as bullets, planes, and nuclear weaponry.
Bellini said that even though America is militarily dominant, it relies on digital technology, leaving it vulnerable.
“We just showed the world: You don’t want to mess with us kinetically,” said Bellini, CEO of Bellini Capital. “But we are wide open digitally. We are like Swiss cheese.”
CBS News reports that the FBI is “intensifying its focus and resources on counterterrorism threats after the United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.”
Citing two sources, CBS News reports that a memo distributed to FBI told field office directors to focus resources on terror threats, including domestically.
From CBS News:
The memo follows a separate, unrelated internal report sent earlier this month in which the FBI forecasted that it would need to concentrate resources on Iran in the coming months. The report stated that a priority would be “helping to apply maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran and its terror proxies. This includes investigating, prosecuting, and otherwise disrupting financial and logistical networks, operatives, and front groups; targeting related foreign-based hacking operations; targeting the leaders and members of terrorist groups and terror proxies responsible for capturing, harming, or killing American citizens, and seizing illicit Iranian oil exports.”
It comes after the FBI has received multiple internal complaints from employees about being pulled off counterterrorism and counterintelligence tasks to focus on immigration enforcement, according to two other sources who spoke to CBS News. The complaints warned of pressure being placed on FBI agents to “maximize the number of immigration arrests.”
“One of the most immediate concerns is the threat of cyberattacks by Iran or hackers tied to Iran’s proxies.”@PierreTABC analyzes the threat to domestic security after U.S. strike on Iran nuclear sites. https://t.co/cjymi6c47e pic.twitter.com/1Y1Q4pdad0
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 22, 2025
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