Inside Iran's high-stakes cyber op to hunt down US troops in the Middle East

Iran allegedly exploited weaknesses in decades-old telecommunications technology to track the mobile phones of US military personnel across the Middle East during its conflict with the United States and Israel, according to a report by The New York Times.The findings, based on data from the Mobile Surveillance Monitor research initiative and first reported by the Financial Times, suggest Iran launched a coordinated cyber campaign that used vulnerabilities in global phone networks to identify the locations of US service members and contractors stationed across the region. Cybersecurity experts say the operation demonstrates a significant evolution in Tehran's cyberwarfare capabilities at a time of heightened military tensions.The revelations come as the US intensifies military operations against Iran, reimposing a naval blockade and carrying out fresh airstrikes, while both sides continue to exchange attacks that have raised fears of a wider regional conflict centred around the Strait of Hormuz.