Handala hacktivists claim attack against independent Iranian news outlet

Cybernews reports that independent Iranian news provider Iran International had all of its systems and communications purportedly breached by the pro-Iranian hacktivist operation Handala Hack, which also claimed to exfiltrate the firm's entire internal data dump.

Allegedly included in the stolen data trove were confidential internal and external communications, media liaisons' identities and contact logs, staff members' personal and security information, bank records and financial contracts, and editorial content archives, according to Handala, which also asserted the compromise of all incoming messages, reports, images, and attachments after breaching the outlet's main message-receiving account, while threatening the imminent exposure of the archived data. "Our infiltration into the Iran International network remains deep, extensive, and largely uncharted. The full extent of our access is still unfolding, but make no mistake: the foundation of their security is broken," said Handala. Volant Media, which manages the London-based Iran International, has not yet acknowledged Handala's claims.