Alwaght- While a leading name in supplying spyware for espionage against foreign officials, the Israeli regime is a failure story when it comes to preventing cyberattcks on its security institutions. Although Israeli officials usually conceal the cyberattcks on military and economic sites from the press, they have been so large-scale in recent months Tel Aviv could not do so anymore.
Acknowledging the cyberattcks on infrastructure, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that companies have responsibilities that they must bear, and that if staff information is leaked, it is the companies themselves that must find a solution.
High security regimes always try to eliminate their weakness and have tighter security against foreign threats, and the Israeli regime, due to its involvement in covert and overt confrontation with Axis of Resistance, is no exception to this principle and always seeks to reduce its vulnerabilities. But cyberattcks against its infrastructure these days are bitting, and they cannot even stop attacks on their media outlets.
The Israeli regime has been subject to cyberattcks several times over the past year, and a hacker group, identifying as Moses Staff, has repeatedly infiltrated the Israeli security apparatus and obtained a great deal of information, damaging the regime's financial and infrastructure sectors and triggering concerns in Tel Aviv leadership.
The group recently published a video, claiming that it gained access to phone number of the ex-spokesman of the Israeli army, the ex-commander of the Israeli army's Northern Front, and the ex-chief of MIA unit in Mossad spying service. Warning Tel Aviv, the group said: "It has just begun. You started it but we end it, and you will incur heavy and irreparable damages in cyberspace and infrastructure."
Earlier, the group had hacked and published documents such as identity cards, lawyers' office papers, checks, and financial statements obtained by attacking Israeli intelligence servers. Moses Staff also hacked CCTV cameras on the streets of occupied Palestinian territories and cameras of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a Haifa-based weapons and military technology company.
Last year, the group announced a "surprise" for the Israeli defense ministry. It hacked into the ministry's super-secure systems and collected information of hundreds of military personnel of various ranks, including names, emails, addresses and telephone numbers, and files containing basic information about the regime's special combat unit known as the Alfon. In addition, the published files contained information about candidates for membership in the security apparatus and sensitive personal information such as the psychological, social and economic status of military staff.
Even personal information of Israeli officials were not immune to Moses Staff access. On October 27 last year, the group leaked personal photos and emails from Defense Minister Benny Gantz in an apparantly humiliating blow to the army and security institutions. Other activities of the group included infiltrating Israeli financial and security institutions and infrastructure, with the slogan of "we see with your own eyes", showing how vulnerable Tel Aviv is to these attacks.
The hacked Israeli websites and the hackers themselves published a clip in which an Aqeeq ring in a clenched fist— apparently connoting Iran's assassinated General Qassem Soleimani who had a similar ring— fired a missile hitting Israeli Dimona nuclear reactor.
The Jerusalem Post newspaper recently revealed that between 2020 and 2021, when cyberattcks around the world increased by about 50 percent, this was 92 percent for the Israeli regime, indicating that the Israelis are considerably susceptible to such attacks.
Following the cyberattcks that took place in late June this year, during which the websites of interior, health, justice and welfare ministries, as well as the PM's office, were shut down, officials admitted that this was the biggest attack on Israeli infrastructure. In the recent hacking of air raid alarm sirens in the occupied territories, tens of thousands of Israelis rushed to shelters for fear of possible attacks as sirens began to ring falsely. Therefore, if real attacks are carried out at the occupied territories, peace and security would collapse in the cities.
Given the Israeli vulnerability to the cyberattcks, if massive waves continue against the infrastructures and media networks, life in the occupied territories would be disrupted, and Tel Aviv confusion in the face of them can lead to public protests.
cyberattcks making up frontline of Israel-Resistance camp war
No doubt, the confrontation between the Israeli regime and the Axis of Resistance— a regional alliance led by Iran and including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine— is underway on all fronts. From the verbal clashes of officials to sabotage in nuclear sites and assassinations, this confrontation is plainly observable. The heated area currently is the cyberspace that is less costly and does not require direct confrontation. Given that the Israelis attribute any cyberattack against themselves to Iran and the Resistance camp, and because they are well aware of the details of such attacks and know what blows have been dealt in their security institutions, they inevitably admit their inability to resist the stroe power of the Resistance forces in cyberspace.
"Iran has become our dominant rival in cyber together with Hezbollah and Hamas," Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) Chief Gaby Portnoy said on Tuesday, adding: "We see them, we know how they work and we are there… we are building a cyber Iron dome."
The Israeli official also claimed that Tel Aviv would try to use new mechanisms to improve its cyber security and counter cyberattcks. Last year, Tel Aviv foiled about 1,500 various cyberattcks against the internal front carried out by Iran, according to Portnoy.
The claim of this Israeli official about monitoring cyber activities against Tel Aviv institutions and organizations are made while the Israeli media recently revealed that Iranian hackers hacked into the email of a reserve army general and carried out attacks on the high-level political, academic, and commercial staff and infrastructure.
Tel Aviv is raising the idea of "cyber Iron Dome" while its costly Iron Dome anti-missile system even failed to engage and intercept Hamas's rudimentary rockets and thus demonstrated its incompetence. The recent cyberattcks on security and economic infrastructure showed that in the event of a war between Tel Aviv and the Axis of Resistance, especially the Palestinians, this regime is extremely vulnerable and hard blows can be dealt to it by hacking into its Iron Dome and radar systems.
That the Israeli officials say just last year they foiled 1,500 and failed to thwart thousands others indicates that not only Bennett’s cabinet has not been successful in addressing the cyberattcks challenges but also they surged during his term.
The Israeli leaders are worried that nuclear facilities could be next as military and financial institutions are being targeted now.
The recent cyberattcks on Israeli infrastructure show that Tel Aviv officials are not immune and that hacks will increase in the future to deal a heavy blow to them. The cyberattcks by two Iraqi hacker groups on Tuesday on Israeli infrastructure show that all branches of the Axis of Resistance walk the same path and will strike at the Israeli regime from all sides if the need arises.
Cyber deterrence
Until recently, Tel Aviv was very powerful in the cyberspace and even sabotaged Iran's nuclear facilities and infrastructure with malicious computer worms like Stuxnet, but now the Axis of Resistance has gained so much power in the cyberspace that its hands no longer tied in the face of the Israelis and its attacks even outnumber those of Tel Aviv. With its attacks, the Resistance shows that the days of hit and run are over and if the Israelis strike one blow, they receive two blows. In others words, the Resistance camp is now so deterrent in cyberspace the Israelis from now on will consider all aspects in their attacks lest they miscalculate.
It has been years since Resistance states have built remarkable deterrence in the face of the Israeli regime and cyber deterrence of them can raise the Israeli costs. The Israeli acknowledging that Hezbollah and Hamas can fire thousands of rockets into Israeli cities daily in case of new wars is true in the cyberspace, and can grab the peace from the Israeli eyes.
