The Hidden Enemy: Iran’s Cyberthreat to U.S. Banks

Disinformation is among the leading cyber risks predicted in the wake of the June 21 U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. On June 22, the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert about increased cyber risk to critical infrastructure because Iranian hacktivists linked to and backed by the Iranian government are expected to retaliate. 

But experts agree the most urgent threats will be disinformation and socially engineered attacks that aim to shake consumer confidence, particularly in the U.S's. financial stability, as well as collaborative cyberattacks between Iran and other geopolitical adversaries, such as Russia, North Korea, and China. The best advice for financial institutions is to brace for increased cyber risks linked to distributed denial-of-service attacks, as well as social disinformation and manipulation campaigns to disguise or veil more nefarious strikes aimed at infiltrating consumer accounts and penetrating critical networks. 

Key questions discussed in this report:

• Why are DDoS attacks and socially engineered attacks critical infrastructure concerns?
• How can FIs adequately assess their current cyber risk?
• How are geopolitical risks pushing cyber-fusion deployment from a like-to-have to a necessity during the second half of 2025?

Companies Mentioned:

Akamai Technologies, CISA, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, DC3, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, Microsoft, Middle East Policy Council, MITRE, NSA, Palo Alto Networks, Radware, Sentinel One, SpiderLabs, The White House, Trustwave, Unit 42