Israel supporters hold flags as they protest, following Hamas’ biggest attack on Israel in years, in Bogota, Colombia October 9, 2023.
Luisa Gonzalez | Reuters
Cybersecurity threats in Israel are escalating amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Recent incidents include the hijacking of two smart billboards that briefly displayed pro-Hamas content and a cyberattack on a college that resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of personal records.
According to Gil Messing, the chief of staff at Check Point Software Technologies, a leading cybersecurity firm based in Tel Aviv, hackers managed to gain access to two smart billboards in or near Tel Aviv for a few minutes on Thursday. During this time, they replaced the commercials with anti-Israeli, pro-Hamas footage. Messing explained that the footage primarily featured the Israeli flag under fire, as well as scenes from Gaza.
Eilon Rosman, the CEO of CTV Media Israel, the company that owned the billboards, confirmed the breach and stated that the hackers exploited a brief moment when the network was open. He emphasized that the incident was short-lived.
Check Point Software Technologies has observed that the majority of cyberthreats during the conflict have been limited to website defacement or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, both lasting only a short period. Messing acknowledged that the billboard incidents were relatively insignificant when compared to the broader cybersecurity landscape.
The cybersecurity firm actively monitors hacking groups on the dark web and Telegram pages. Via these channels, they have detected threats of attacks against critical infrastructure, including water utilities. Messing shared a message from one Telegram group that targeted Mekorot, Israel’s primary water management agency.
Messing revealed that over 40 groups are currently claiming to attempt cyberattacks, although these threats are not uncommon and are often more about causing fear and discomfort rather than significant damage.
Last week’s most significant cyberattack targeted Ono Academic College near Tel Aviv. A hacker group claiming to be from Jordan breached the college’s system and leaked approximately 250,000 records of employees, students, and former students on Telegram. As a result, the college had to temporarily shut down its systems.
Messing described this cyberattack as a significant incident that required investigation and response from cybersecurity experts. The college has since reported the breach to the relevant authorities and aims to have its IT systems fully operational within the next few days.
