For di past few weeks, from Operation Spiderweb for di Russo-Ukrainian war to di wahala wey dey between Israel and Iran, we don see how modern war don change pass di normal battlefield.
Now, dem dey fight war not just for ground but also for cyber space, where dem fit scatter infrastructure and twist information with speed and precision wey never dey before.
Di recent fight between Israel and Iran don show how technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), dey change di way dem dey do digital war. After Israel attack Iran on June 13 without warning, and Iran fight back, e clear say AI dey play big role for di kind cyber war wey dem dey do now.
For di 12 days wey di fight last, cyber war dey happen side by side, as both countries dey use AI tools take attack each other. Last week, one hacking group wey dem dey call Predatory Sparrow, wey dem link to Israel, hack Iran Bank Sepah and e scatter di financial system for di country.
Di next day, di same group carry $90 million from Nobitex, Iran biggest cryptocurrency exchange, and dem send di money go blockchain addresses wey nobody fit access. Consultancy group Elliptic talk say di money don burn, e no fit recover again.
Di attack wey Israel do for Iran banking and cryptocurrency sector, plus Iran own AI-powered phishing and spying wahala, don show say di fight don turn to testing ground for AI-driven war.
Predatory Sparrow attack no just stop for di financial sector. Dem also target Iranian state media. Videos wey show anti-government messages dey circulate online, and e show say dem fit hack di broadcast system.
Iran government, as dem dey fear more attack, come block internet for di country. Cloudflare talk say di internet traffic for Iran drop by 97%. Di blackout na to stop Israeli hackers, but e also affect ordinary people wey no fit access important services.
Experts talk say di way Israel take attack first give dem big advantage. Rob Joyce, wey be former head of cybersecurity for NSA, talk say di attack fit scatter trust for Iran banks and e fit cause big wahala for di country.
For 2022, Predatory Sparrow claim say dem attack one Iranian steel factory, and di attack cause big fire for di place. Security experts talk say dis kind attack no be wetin ordinary hackers fit do, e dey more like wetin government go fit plan.
Iran no just siddon look, dem also dey use AI for their own cyber attack. Dem dey spread fake messages for Israel, dey talk say fuel go finish or bomb go soon drop. Di messages dey look like say na Israel government send am.
Gil Messing, wey dey work for Check Point Software, talk say di fake news wey Iran dey spread for social media dey increase di tension. John Hultquist from Google Threat Intelligence Group talk say di main fear na say Iran fit use cyber spying take track important people.
Iran hackers, especially di group wey dem dey call APT35 or Charming Kitten, dey use AI to make their phishing attack strong. Dem dey send fake emails and messages wey dey look real, so dem fit collect people password and other important information.
BBC Verify talk say dem see plenty AI-generated videos wey dey exaggerate Iran military power and fake attack on Israel. Some of di videos get millions of views, and dem dey spread fake news about di fight.
One of di most serious wahala for dis kind digital war na how dem dey use normal technology as weapon. Report talk say Iranian hackers enter internet-connected cameras for Israel and dey use am spy on people.
Dis kind attack, plus di way AI dey make everything fast and hard to stop, don show say digital war don enter new level where e dey affect di technology wey people dey use everyday.
