A hacker group reported breaching the customer database of Iran's largest mobile operator, Mobile Communications Company of Iran (MCI), and accessing the personal data of 30 million of its subscribers.
The hacker group, named ShadowBits, also said to have obtained information about the employees of the MCI.
Digiato, a website active in Iran’s tech news industry, initially reported the breach but later removed the article.
ShadowBits shared an image of the Digiato article in a Telegram post and said that “pressure from intelligence agencies” led to its removal.
The group added that the data includes personal information such as names, surnames, date and place of birth, national ID numbers, birth certificate numbers, and full postal addresses.
London-based security expert Nariman Gharib confirmed the breach through his research, adding that telecom companies like MCI have close ties to the country’s intelligence and security agencies, and that telecom data is often used for surveillance of citizens.
