Report: Leader of Iranian Hanzala hacker group killed in targeted strike

Yahya Hosseini Panjaki, the man said to have headed the Iranian cyber and hacking group known as Hanzala, was killed in a targeted strike during the recent war in Iran. The killing and his role were given added significance after a Telegram channel directly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization publicly confirmed, for the first time, that Panjaki was indeed the person who led and managed the group’s operations in recent years.

Hanzala had focused much of its activity on Israeli targets. In recent months, it made headlines repeatedly after carrying out major breaches and exposing sensitive information and correspondence taken from the mobile phones of a long list of Israeli officials.

Among the best-known figures whose accounts or phones were hacked and whose material was published by the group were former prime minister Naftali Bennett, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Prime Minister’s Office chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, and other senior figures in Israel’s security and political establishment.

The strike is being described as a serious blow to Iran’s offensive cyber infrastructure against Israeli targets.