Iranian State Hackers Stole 700GB From Los Angeles Metro in Weeks-Long Breach, Israeli ...

Iranian government-linked hackers were behind a March breach of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that took weeks to recover from and resulted in the theft of at least 700 gigabytes of data, according to a report published Tuesday by Israeli cybersecurity firm Gambit Security [1][2]. The Tel Aviv-based startup said the attack was carried out by operatives working for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, or MOIS — not by an independent hacktivist group as the perpetrators claimed. A group calling itself Ababil of Minab had publicly taken credit for the hack, saying it stole and then deleted data from LACMTA's systems. But Gambit Security said the persona is a fabricated front for state- operations. "They are not a new, standalone hacktivist crew as they claim," the firm said, describing Ababil of Minab as part of a pattern of fake hacktivist brands used as cover by the Iranian government [2]. The breach, detected around March 16, disrupted portions of LACMTA's internal network and customer-facing systems. While bus and rail service continued uninterrupted, local reports indicated that arrival information screens went dark and customers were unable to add money to their transit cards for an extended period [1][3]. The transit agency shut down access to parts of its network after security staff discovered unauthorized activity.