A popular prayer app used in Iran is believed to have been hacked after it began urging users to lay down their weapons on Saturday following airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel.
The messages, as reported by WIRED Middle East, were sent in quick succession over a 30-minute period to users of “BadeSaba Calendar.” The app, which has been downloaded more than 5 million times, provides Muslims with accurate prayer times based on their location.
The first message, as seen in screenshots, told the app’s users in a notification at 9:52 a.m. local time that “Help Has Arrived.” A message sent at 10:02 a.m. also appeared to be aimed at Iranian military personnel, stating that amnesty would be granted to those who took up arms against the regime.
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“The regime’s repressive forces will pay for their cruel and merciless actions against the innocent people of Iran,” the notification said. “Anyone who joins in defending and protecting the Iranian nation will be granted amnesty and forgiveness.”
At 10:14 a.m., another message urged the app’s users to “lay down your weapons or join the forces of liberation” in support of freedom for “our Iranian brothers and sisters.”
“Only in this way can you save your lives,” the notification continued. “For a free Iran.”
Experts believe that such a hack was likely planned and executed well before the strikes began. At this time, no one has claimed responsibility for the hack.
Jake Williams, vice president of R&D at the cybersecurity firm Hunter Strategy, told Straight Arrow News that he believes the hack bears the hallmarks of an Israeli operation. Williams previously worked in the National Security Agency’s elite hacking unit known as Tailored Access Operations.
“This is very likely an Israeli cyber operation,” Williams said. “I’d be surprised if it were the U.S. They typically go out of their way to avoid operations that can result in attribution. That’s definitely the case here. Israel, on the other hand, doesn’t care about attribution.”
Williams said targeting apps is a highly effective method for sending out messages en masse. Israel has not taken credit for the hack.
President Donald Trump, in a statement on Truth Social, described the strikes as the beginning of “major combat operations” aimed at defending “the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Iran retaliated against the U.S.-Israeli strikes, which targeted the Iranian capital of Tehran, by launching strikes of their own against Israel and U.S. military bases in countries including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
