Cybersecurity Policy Report, DoJ: Seized Iranian Websites Were Used for Cyber Operations, Propaganda, (Mar 20, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Department of Justice has seized four websites that DoJ says were used by the Iranian government to publish hacked information and disseminate threats and propaganda.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland authorized the seizures yesterday pursuant to a request from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Iran thought they could hide behind fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorize Americans and silence dissidents,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a news release. “We took down four of their operation’s pillars and we’re not done. This FBI will hunt down every actor behind these cowardly death threats and cyberattacks and will bring the full force of American law enforcement down on them.”
The websites became active after the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran late last month. They were used to publish personally identifiable information about Israeli officials and Iranian dissidents, DoJ said.
They were also used to publish data allegedly stolen from Stryker Corp., a medical technology company based in Michigan, which disclosed on March 11 that it suffered a cyber attack for which the Iranian government claimed credit, DoJ added.
“Terrorist propaganda online can incite real-world violence—thanks to our National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, this network of Iranian-backed sites will no longer broadcast anti-American hate,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Our cyber assets will remain ever-vigilant to root out and deactivate networks that pose a threat to American citizens.”
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