Israel Sees Cyber Incursions Across Digital Systems
By James Rundle and Kim S. Nash, Oct. 12, 2023, WSJ
Cyber aggression in Israel escalated Wednesday night, as fighting entered a sixth day Thursday and fatalities topped 1,300 on both sides of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Hackers infiltrated Israel’s smart billboards, posting pro-Hamas messages and images, according to cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies. Israelis are receiving threatening texts on their phones and WhatsApp messages from numbers in
Yemen and Afghanistan, Check Point said. Opportunists are also sending crypto scams disguised as pro-Israel aid requests.

Attempts to access Israel’s industrial systems have jumped in the last day or so, said Yossi Appleboum, chief executive of cyber company Sepio. The activity, so far unsuccessful in penetrating the networks, has come from Iran, Syria and pro-Russia
hacktivist group Killnet, Appleboum said.

“A week ago, you would see less than a handful of these in 24 hours but now you see a handful in an hour,” he said.

Students, many attending classes remotely due to the violence, haven’t been spared from online assaults. Israel’s Ministry of Education on Wednesday warned teachers and families to better secure remote-learning tools after a man in fatigues holding a
rifle appeared on screen during a high school videoconference.

Dozens of municipal and consumer websites were targeted in distributed denial-of-service attacks since the assault from Gaza began on Saturday, including the website of the Jerusalem Post. Such attacks bombard websites with traffic, overloading servers
and sometimes knocking them offline for periods.

Denial-of-service strikes are seen as relatively unsophisticated and more a nuisance than a serious threat. More concerning are potential attacks on critical infrastructure, possibly launched with help from hackers in Iran, said John Hale, professor of
computer science and cybersecurity at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

“An organized effort backed by a nation-state changes the game quite a bit,” he said.

Israel was already the Middle Eastern country most targeted in nation-state cyberattacks, according to Microsoft research published last week. The surge in wartime hacking has spurred the formation of citizen cyber brigades.

Members of the country’s large technology community formed the all-volunteer Israel Tech Guard to search for hostages and missing people using clues from online posts—some of which show disturbing scenes of violence.

“These are horrible, horrible, horrible videos and pictures, but someone needs to do so,” said Lotem Finkelsteen, a guard member and director of threat intelligence and research Check Point. “This is for the greater good,” he added, speaking from
Tel Aviv.

Israeli cyber volunteers are also working to protect key services, such as missile-alert apps residents use to know when to seek shelter. Many of these apps lack heavy security features, having been built over the years by volunteers, said Gil Messing,
Check Point’s chief of staff.

Other efforts include databases and websites for aid coordination, applications for first responders and location services for displaced civilians, said Sharon Seemann, a Tel Aviv-based partner at venture-capital firm YL Ventures.

Similar citizen cyber brigades formed in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022, with thousands of volunteers signing up to protect critical infrastructure, and in some cases, launch offensive operations against Russian websites.

On Tuesday, the U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, Anne Neuberger, said that the U.S. was “surging” cyber support for Israel, without specifying what form that would take.

The U.S. can provide digital help in the form of redundant communications links and replacement equipment for any technology that might be damaged, said the University of Tulsa’s Hale.

Perhaps more urgent, Hale said, would be intelligence to supplement what Israeli officials glean. “That’s first and foremost,” he said.

Israel has long been a center for cybersecurity startups, many of which were founded by former members of the Unit 8200 military intelligence unit, which specializes in cyberwarfare. The country hosts cybersecurity research and development centers for
more than 400 companies, and its 300-plus domestic cyber companies have over $3.5 billion in annual exports, according to figures from the Israeli government.

While sirens blare in Israeli cities to warn of impending rocket strikes, residents also have to deal with rampant disinformation, cyber specialists say. One example includes a now debunked rumor circulating on social-media platforms that militants and
their supporters had compromised Israeli water supplies.

Widespread disinformation and online threats about cyberattacks are a potent weapon for Hamas, magnifying fear even if the group lacks serious hacking skills, said Hale.

“Fear and panic in a society is what terrorists bank on,” he said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-cyber-companies-rally-as-digital-physical-assaults-continue-90b457f2

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