Analysts Link Nobitex Breach to Arrest of Iranian Agents

Israeli intelligence services may have utilised data from the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex to capture Iranian spies. This hypothesis was proposed by analysts at TRM Labs.

According to the report, Israeli authorities arrested three individuals on suspicion of espionage for Iran. Two of them received payments in cryptocurrencies. One of the suspects was paid $500 in digital assets for each completed task.

The arrests occurred a few days after the breach of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex. The pro-Israeli hacker group Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for the incident.

Analysts believe the sequence of events suggests a possible connection. They speculated that Israeli cyber units might have used internal Nobitex data, such as wallet information or personal message history.

Israeli authorities have not confirmed any link between the breach and the arrests. TRM Labs acknowledged the lack of direct evidence but noted that the hypothesis aligns with the tactics of Israeli intelligence services and the actions of Gonjeshke Darande.

In June, hackers released the platform’s source code. Analysts at Chainalysis noted that Nobitex is a key node in Iran’s sanctioned crypto ecosystem.