America could be hit with 'high-impact' cyberattack targeting energy grid, fmr WH tech chief says

One adept says Iran could deed America with a "high-impact" cyberattack arsenic its confrontation with Israel escalates each day.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei threatened the United States during an interrogation with Al Jazeera English connected Wednesday, saying that American involution alongside Israel would mean "all-out war."

"Any American involution would beryllium a look for an all-out warfare successful the region," helium said.

Theresa Payton, erstwhile White House main accusation serviceman and CEO of the cybersecurity steadfast Fortalice Solutions, told Fox News Digital that Iran could usage cyberattacks arsenic it becomes much and much desperate.

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"I deliberation everything's connected the array close present arsenic it relates to Iran, particularly if they are moving retired of weaponry and missiles. They could edifice to cyber incidents and cyberattacks," Payton said. "So we could spot Iran onslaught everything from mundane citizens to U.S. elected officials, media outlets, arsenic good arsenic captious infrastructure."

Payton said Iran would look to people thing that is "high-impact, precise disposable and precise inconvenient." For example, Payton said energy, inferior and h2o supplies could beryllium areas that Iran would privation to people successful bid to origin large disruptions.

Iran has a past of cyberattacks targeting America.

Seven radical linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were indicted by the Department of Justice successful 2016 for their engagement successful a denial-of-service onslaught connected the websites of companies specified arsenic Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, according to the Council connected Foreign Relations.

Federal prosecutors said the denial-of-service attacks took spot against 46 countries, which were chiefly successful the fiscal sector.

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The Iron Dome aerial defence strategy intercepts missiles during an Iranian onslaught implicit Tel Aviv, Israel, aboriginal Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The attacks allegedly took spot implicit 176 days and prevented customers from logging connected to their online accounts, costing the banks tens of millions of dollars arsenic they responded to the coordinated cyberattacks.

In 2022, 3 Iranian nationals were indicted aft attempting to behaviour a cyberattack against Boston Children's Hospital. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray elaborate however superior the menace was during a league hosted by Boston College. 

Iran could people mundane Americans, a erstwhile White House authoritative said. (Alex Potemkin/Getty Images)

"We got a study from 1 of our quality partners indicating Boston Children's was astir to beryllium targeted, and knowing the urgency of the situation, the cyber squad successful our Boston tract bureau raced retired to notify the hospital," Wray said. "Quick actions by everyone involved, particularly astatine the hospital, protected some the web and the sick kids that beryllium connected it."

Payton said Iran has a "track record" erstwhile it comes to cyberattacks, truthful the menace should beryllium taken seriously.

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Smoke rises from the gathering of Iran's state-run tv aft an Israeli onslaught successful Tehran, Iran, connected Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)

"They've done everything from spear phishing governmental campaigns and getting accusation from governmental campaigns. They person masqueraded arsenic authorities officials. They had really deed fiscal services with distributed denial-of-service attacks implicit the years. And they person deed retired astatine captious infrastructure, not conscionable successful the United States, but successful different countries arsenic well," she said. "And truthful they bash person a way grounds of hits and misses arsenic it relates to cyber incidents. And truthful that's wherefore a cyber intrusion is precise overmuch a potential, on-the-table script for Iran."

Reuters contributed to this report.