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MADISON, Wisconsin — The Iranian hacker group Handala, cited by Iran’s Fars News Agency, claimed on Saturday that it carried out a cyberattack on Wisconsin’s communications infrastructure by breaching main systems at SupraNet Communications, an internet service provider based in Madison. The group said the intrusion disrupted service for thousands of institutions, commercial businesses, government networks and urban centers, causing intermittent outages and wider connectivity problems across the affected areas. Handala framed the operation as a response to what it described as provocative actions by Washington and warned that it intends to continue cyber activities against U.S. interests and policies. The extent of the damage to SupraNet’s systems and the duration of the service disruptions remain unclear, and the claims could not be independently verified. UNITED STATES — The alleged attack in Wisconsin comes amid a documented rise in Iranian cyber operations targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, reflected in recent advisories from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI, the NSA and the Department of Energy. Federal authorities have warned that Iranian state-backed hackers are actively compromising industrial control systems at water, energy and other critical providers, manipulating data on displays and disabling alarm and shutdown logic in ways that can allow facilities to enter unsafe conditions without notifying operators. The same Handala group has previously claimed disruptive and destructive operations against U.S. entities, including wiping tens of thousands of devices at medical technology company Stryker and reporting a data breach at California water provider Cal Water. U.S. agencies have urged critical infrastructure operators and private organizations across North America to strengthen cyber defenses and take immediate steps to secure exposed operational networks.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.