Israeli Analysts Link Nobitex Hack to Arrest of Iranian Agents

Israeli intelligence agencies may have leveraged information obtained from the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex to apprehend Iranian spies. This hypothesis was proposed by analysts from TRM Labs.

According to the report, Israeli authorities detained three individuals on suspicion of espionage for Iran. Two of them were compensated in cryptocurrencies, with one suspect reportedly receiving $500 in digital assets for each completed task.

The arrests occurred shortly after the breach of Nobitex, which is Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The pro-Israel hacking group Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for the incident.

Analysts believe that the timeline of events suggests a potential link between the two occurrences. They speculated that Israeli cyber units might have accessed internal data from Nobitex, such as wallet information or personal message histories.

Israeli officials have not confirmed any connection between the hack and the arrests. TRM Labs acknowledged that while there is no direct evidence, the hypothesis aligns with the tactics employed by Israeli intelligence and the actions of Gonjeshke Darande.

It’s worth noting that on June 19, hackers released the source code of the platform. Analysts from Chainalysis highlighted that Nobitex serves as a crucial node in Iran’s sanctioned cryptocurrency ecosystem.