Cyberattacks targeting Israel have been on the rise in recent weeks, following a Hamas assault on the country. The attacks have been attributed to a variety of groups, including Hamas itself, as well as other Palestinian and Iranian hackers.
The attacks have targeted a variety of targets, including government agencies, businesses, and individuals. In some cases, the attacks have been designed to steal data, while in others they have been designed to disrupt operations or cause damage.
Hacking groups, potentially linked to Russia, have launched cyberattacks on Israeli government and media websites in solidarity with the Palestinian military group Hamas, which recently carried out a series of deadly attacks in Israel.
One of these groups, named Killnet, claimed responsibility for launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, a type of cyberattack that floods websites with traffic, on Israeli government systems. They accused Israel of supporting Ukraine and NATO and claimed to have temporarily taken down the Israeli government website and the website of the security agency Shin Bet. These claims have yet to be independently verified, but both websites did experience downtime.
Simultaneously, a group called Anonymous Sudan, suspected by cybersecurity experts to have ties to Russia, declared its support for the “Palestinian resistance” and took credit for briefly taking the Jerusalem Post’s website offline through cyberattacks. Several other self-proclaimed hacktivist groups announced their intent to target Israeli infrastructure, including power plants and missile alert systems, but the veracity of these claims remains unconfirmed.
One hacker group, AnonGhost, exploited a vulnerability in a mobile phone application used for issuing missile alerts in Israel. They inserted fake notifications with anti-Israel messages and a swastika. The app was subsequently removed from Google’s Play Store after having been downloaded one million times.
Israel is a frequent target of cyberattacks, often attributed to Iranian hackers, but it remains unclear whether Iran’s hacking forces are involved in the current conflict. Pro-Israel groups have also launched cyberattacks on Palestinian organizations.
One of the most notable attacks was a ransomware attack on the Israeli national health system in June. The attack forced the system to shut down for several days, disrupting medical care for thousands of patients.
Another notable attack was a denial-of-service attack on the Israeli government’s website in July. The attack temporarily made the website inaccessible, preventing citizens from accessing government services.
The Israeli government has responded to the cyberattacks by increasing its cybersecurity measures. The government has also called on the international community to help combat the attacks.
The rise in cyberattacks targeting Israel is a reminder of the growing threat of cyberwarfare. It is also a reminder of the importance of cybersecurity for all organizations, regardless of size or industry.
- inputs Time
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