Threats Tensions Between Israel and Iran: Security Warnings for Critical U.S Infrastructure

As geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran escalate into open conflict, cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm: critical infrastructure in the United States is at heightened risk of targeted cyberattacks from Iranian state actors, affiliated hacktivist collectives, and opportunistic cybercriminals.

With Iran vowing retaliation following Israeli airstrikes on its territory in June 2025, the cyber battlefield is already heating up. Analysts warn that the U.S., as a close ally of Israel and a global leader in critical infrastructure operations, could face the next wave of attacks.

Cyber Fallout from Real-World Conflict: The Digital Front Opens

Since Israel’s June 12th strike on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, Israeli cybersecurity firms have reported a 700% surge in attempted cyber intrusions from Iranian IP addresses. The targets include government ministries, water utilities, energy companies, and even civilian infrastructure.

In response, U.S. sector-specific agencies have issued bulletins urging vigilance. The IT-ISAC, Water-ISAC, and Food and Ag-ISAC have circulated memos noting that U.S. organizations may become “proxy targets” as part of Iran’s broader cyber retaliation strategy. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has moved several federal systems to “heightened monitoring status.”

Actors Behind the Threat: Nation-States, Hacktivists, and Criminals Collide

1. Iranian State-Backed Threat Groups

Iran has invested heavily in cyber capabilities under its military arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Among its most aggressive proxies is CyberAv3ngers, a group that gained notoriety in late 2023 after hacking several U.S. municipal water systems using Israeli-made PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers).

According to reports, over 100 industrial control devices across U.S. water, energy, and manufacturing sectors were compromised using default credentials.

This follows how, on November 22nd, 2023, CyberAv3ngers defaced HMI (Human-Machine Interface) systems at small-town water plants, replacing dashboards with anti-Israeli messages.

The group has since shifted focus to systems indirectly linked to Israeli manufacturers, such as Unitronics.

2. Pro-Iran Hacktivist Collectives

Hacktivist groups like Cyber Toufan, Haghjoyan, and YareGomnam have also become more active, claiming cyberattacks on targets ranging from Israeli CCTV systems to American pipelines with perceived Israeli ties.

Though the authenticity of some claims is questionable, experts warn that:

• These actors use open-source tools and Telegram groups to organize “raids” on vulnerable systems.

• Their operations often follow military events, creating a tight feedback loop between kinetic and cyber warfare.

Hacktivist campaigns have increased by 300% since April 2025, focusing heavily on soft targets like small energy cooperatives, hospitals, and transportation authorities.

3. Cybercriminals Exploiting Chaos

Iran-aligned Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups like Pioneer Kitten (APT34) and Phosphorus (APT35) have a long history of exploiting geopolitical distractions for access and profit.

In recent months:

• Cybercriminals have actively scanned for vulnerabilities in Palo Alto firewalls (CVE-2024-3400) and Check Point gateways (CVE-2024-24919), especially in infrastructure environments.

• Several ransomware strains, including BlackBasta, Ransomhouse, and 8Base, have been observed deploying custom payloads into utility environments lacking proper segmentation.

• Security firm Mandiant noted a 42% increase in ransomware-related incident response engagements in the U.S. energy sector in Q2 2025 alone.

Critical Infrastructure: The Most Exposed Sectors

• Water and Wastewater Systems: Many use legacy OT systems with weak passwords and internet exposure. Nearly 60% of municipal water utilities in the U.S. serve populations under 10,000—making them underfunded and underprotected. CISA has flagged these systems as “top-tier risk vectors” in the event of nation-state escalation.

• Energy Grids and Power Stations: U.S. energy operators have experienced a tripling of scanning activity from Iranian IP ranges since mid-May. “Proof-of-concept” exploits for ICS/SCADA vulnerabilities are circulating on cybercrime forums.

• Healthcare & Emergency Services: Hospitals and emergency response systems are attractive to attackers seeking disruption without long-term damage. A ransomware attack in April 2025 shut down three regional hospitals in Texas, disrupting care for over 30,000 patients.

Why the U.S. is Vulnerable

Despite increased investment in cybersecurity, American critical infrastructure remains exposed:

• Aging legacy systems: Many OT environments were designed decades ago without cybersecurity in mind.

• Default credentials: Recent scans revealed over 1,500 exposed ICS systems using vendor default logins.

• Lack of segmentation: Many networks still connect OT systems directly to corporate IT infrastructure, enabling lateral movement.

• Budget and staffing constraints: Smaller municipalities and utilities cannot match the threat sophistication of state-backed actors.

Recommended Defense Measures

CISA, FBI, and private security vendors have issued coordinated advisories with specific mitigation steps:

• Patch all critical vulnerabilities, particularly CVE-2024-24919 (Check Point Gateway) and CVE-2024-3400 (Palo Alto PAN-OS)

• Audit all ICS and OT systems for Internet exposure.

• Change all default usernames and passwords—especially for Unitronics, Siemens, and Rockwell Automation devices.

• Monitor logs and traffic for anomalous behavior, brute-force attempts, and remote desktop protocol (RDP) access.

• Implement segmentation between OT and IT networks using firewalls and VLANs.

• Participate in ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers) for real-time alerts and intelligence.

• Conduct tabletop exercises simulating cyberattacks in conjunction with physical crises.

• Invest in Zero Trust Architecture, especially for remote access systems.

Conclusion

The evolving conflict between Israel and Iran is no longer confined to missiles and airstrikes—it’s being fought across routers, firewalls, and ICS dashboards. While Israel may be the direct target, the United States is a high-value proxy in this shadow war.

With recent intelligence showing over 100 critical systems already compromised, and with cyber threat activity peaking in sectors like water and energy, the risk to American infrastructure has never been higher.

In today’s interconnected world, cyber retaliation can come without warning—and without borders.