After the Strikes: How Hacktivists Turned Iranian Apps into a Cyber Front

Later in February 2026, the United States and Israel had what they termed Operation Epic Fury. Airstrikes were used to attack major targets in Iran. Meanwhile in the background, a strong cyber campaign was carried out. This was not just a matter of bombs and missiles. It was also about code. 

Iranian websites, news agencies, and mobile applications were being attacked by hackers and the cyber teams affiliated with states. The BadeSaba prayer and calendar application was one of the most scandalous cases of people using the app by millions. Rather than being alerted by normal prayer messages, the users were shown bizarre political messages. To a lot of people, their personal digital solitude was violated. 

Internet connection in Iran plummeted. Connection dropped at one time to only a few per cent of normal levels. There are scholars who think that this was as a result of foreign influences. Other people believe that Iranian officials are closing down sectors of the network themselves to curb information and curb unrest. Either way, millions of people were disconnected. 

The cyber-attacks were not complicated but worked. Denial-of-service attacks were used by many to crash sites. Others were hit by traffic surges that crashed their servers. Some of them misused push notifications or poor app systems. These strategies were cheap but they had far-reaching impacts.

It did not just affect Iran. The situation in the region increased the prices of oil. Transportation via the Strait of Hormuz became slow. The energy markets responded in days. Something new was displayed in this conflict. 

War cannot only be fought in the ground, sea or in the air. It has now extended into phones, applications and daily digital devices. It can be expected that cyber-attacks linked to global conflicts will only increase by 2030.