In late November, there was an attempted cyberattack on Ziv Medical Centre in Safed, Israel, and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) revealed that Iran and Hezbollah were behind it. Although the attack was prevented from disrupting hospital operations, private data from the hospital’s systems was extracted by the attackers.
For military cybersecurity, particularly concerning Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza, a different approach is taken. Computers with sensitive information are often not connected to the Internet, and soldiers aren’t allowed to carry cell phones to avoid exposing their locations or sensitive data. This strict security measure aims to prevent accidental exposure of soldiers’ locations and plans.
During the conflict with Hamas, there were concerns about how the terrorist group infiltrated Israel and targeted civilians. Hamas employed a multi-pronged approach, including ground invasion, sea, air, and cyberspace attacks. They attempted to sabotage Israel’s rocket-alert system and even created a fake application mimicking the Red Alert app to spread misinformation and potentially steal sensitive information from users.
Hamas’s cyberattacks extended beyond the military domain. They targeted civilian and governmental entities, aiming to spread fear and insecurity. While independent actors may cause psychological harm, state-sponsored groups like those in Iran possess serious cybersecurity capabilities that could potentially harm critical infrastructure.
Efforts by Hamas and its allies included social engineering tactics to gain access to classified data. Messages were sent to IDF soldiers, asking about their locations, missions, and activities. Additionally, there were attempts to use artificial intelligence to create fake pictures of supposed attacks on key Israeli infrastructure.
Despite these cyber challenges, Israel has been praised for fending off cyberattacks that could have had life-threatening consequences. However, there have been instances of fraudulent activities, where initiatives to fundraise for soldiers and victims were leveraged for fraud attacks to steal money from well-intentioned civilians.
Artificial intelligence has played a dual role in these cyber conflicts. While it has been used by anti-Israel thieves to create realistic websites for fraudulent purposes, it’s also assumed that the Israeli military employs AI to analyze footage, identify terrorists, and translate intercepted phone calls into text rapidly.
The cyberspace activities during the Israel-Hamas conflict also revealed a shift, with groups initially targeting Israeli entities later turning their attention to Western targets, including major U.S. news organizations. This shift indicates a broader narrative where these groups perceive the conflict as part of a campaign against the entire Western world.
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