Iran-linked group Handala claims to have breached three major UAE organizations

Iran-linked group Handala claims to have breached three major UAE organizations, Dubai Courts, Dubai Land Department, and Dubai Roads & Transport Authority

The group Handala claimed a major cyberattack against the UAE, targeting Dubai Courts Department, Dubai Land Department, and Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.

They alleged destroying 6 petabytes of data and stealing 149 TB of sensitive information, framing the attack as retaliation and a warning to regional governments, though such claims remain unverified.

“In response to the blatant betrayal of the Resistance Axis by the Epsteinist leaders of the UAE, and as a serious, preemptive warning to all treacherous governments in the region, Handala has launched one of its most powerful cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure.” the group wrote on its Tor website. “During this operation, 6 petabytes of data have been completely destroyed…”

Handala appears as a pro-Palestinian hacktivist group but is widely seen as a front for Iran-backed Void Manticore. Known for phishing, data theft, extortion, and destructive wiper attacks, they also engage in info operations and psychological warfare. Since the Iran conflict began, they’ve targeted Israeli military servers, intelligence officers, and companies, stealing or wiping data.

In early April, the group announced that it breached PSK Wind Technologies, an Israeli engineering and IT firm specializing in integrated systems for defense and critical communications, including command and control solutions.

Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in February, the Iran-linked group Handala has intensified its cyberattacks. It claimed responsibility for a destructive breach at medical tech firm Stryker that targeted its internal Microsoft environment and remotely wiped tens of thousands of employee devices without using malware. 

The group claimed it wiped more than 200,000 servers, mobile devices, and other systems, forcing the company to shut down offices across 79 countries. The hacktivists also claimed they exfiltrated about 50TB of corporate data from the company’s infrastructure.

Recently, the Iran-linked hacking group Handala claimed the hack of the FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal Gmail account and shared alleged data, including photos and files.

The FBI is offering up to $10 million for information on the Handala hackers.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Handala)