Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/Documentary photo.
The conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors has consistently attracted international attention as well as politically motivated hackers, often referred to as hacktivists. These hackers often exploit the conflict to support their preferred side or simply to attract attention.
“There are dozens of victims every day being sabotaged by both new and old [hacktivist] organizations,” said cyber intelligence organization Recorded Future.
There are few examples of long-term consequences, but these operations have shown how a small group of backers can use digital tools to take the conflict online.
So far, among similar incidents, a pro-Hamas hacker group called AnonGhost claims to have successfully sabotaged an Israeli emergency alert app, according to information on the organization's social media channels.
Another organization called AnonymousSudan, on Telegram, has claimed to be continuously attacking Israel's critical infrastructure, although it has not provided any evidence for these claims.
More than 100 Israeli websites have been disrupted or temporarily disrupted through distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, a type of attack that involves sending a flood of fake request packets to a website, according to cybersecurity analysts.
“Attackers have taken down our website for a long period of time over the past several days. This is a blatant attack on press freedom,” said Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Avi Mayer in an email.
Israel's Central Emergency Response Team (CERT) did not respond to requests for comment.
It is often difficult to verify the accuracy of hacktivist claims. This was also the case during the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, when a Ukrainian-backed volunteer hacker army claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against Russian websites and online services.
Analysts expect cyber espionage to continue behind the scenes.
This past week, Microsoft reported that a Gaza-based hacker group called Storm-1133 had stepped up cyber espionage activities targeting Israeli telecommunications, defense, and energy companies earlier this year.
“We assess that this organization is operating to promote the interests of Hamas,” the report said.
Omri Segev Moyal, director general of the Israeli cybersecurity firm Profero, said his firm had detected activity linked to an Iranian spy organization called Muddy Water and possible hacking attempts linked to Molerats, an organization that researchers believe also works for Hamas.
Molerats' activities “ceased immediately after the air strikes began,” he said.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)
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