When U.S. and Israeli forces launched a sweeping air and sea campaign against Iran’s military infrastructure in late Feb. 2026, the missiles weren’t the only weapons that flew. Within hours, more than 60 Iranian-aligned cyber groups mobilized, according to Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, armed with AI-assisted reconnaissance tools and a mandate to strike back where it hurts most: America’s corporate nervous system.
Within hours, cybersecurity agencies in the UK and Canada both warned about heightened threat levels, followed by similar warnings from Europol and the Department of Homeland Security.
