Covert cyber attacks between Israel and Iran intensify

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Days after an attack on the Iron Dome alarm system and tourism agencies, Israeli army hackers severely disrupted operations at three major Iranian steel mills in retaliation

In an ongoing series of cyber attacks by Iran-based groups on Israel, hackers have successfully stolen credit card details from hundreds of Israelis, leaking them online.

Hackers targeted several tourism agencies in Israel, obtaining the financial information of thousands of customers, and sending hundreds of threatening SMS messages to hacked tourist customers, according a recent report by Palestine-based Shehab News Agency.

Despite the mild impact of these attacks on Israel, the cyber battlefield between Iran and Israel is rapidly escalating, and is reaching an unprecedented level.

The Israeli military establishment deals with all threats on par with each other, putting great emphasis on the cyber arena.

Following the recent attack on the Iron Dome alarm system by the Moses Staff group, Israel retaliated by attacking major Iranian steel manufacturing infrastructure.

Gonjeshke Darande, an Israeli military covert group, attacked Iran’s state-owned Khouzestan Steel Company (KSC), Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC), and Hormozgan Steel Company (HOSCO).

In a CCTV video released by the hackers, an automated mechanism at a mill was disrupted, displacing the steel ball ladle and allowing hot molten steel to pour out, damaging tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

Earlier on 26 October 2021, the hacker group took credit for a major disruption of the digital transaction system for gas stations in Iran. The attack halted all 4,300 pumping stations around the country.

The rolling success achieved by Israel in this domain broke a taboo, allowing officials to become more vocal about their attacks against Iran.

At a Cyber Week event on 28 June, outgoing Israeli Prime Minster Naftali Bennett implicitly took credit for the attack perpetrated by Gonjeshke Darande a day earlier.

“Our policy is, if you mess with Israel, you’ll pay a price,” Bennett said.

A similar message was delivered by the deputy commander of intelligence unit 8200 Colonel Aleph and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in a conference hosted by Tel Aviv University for Cyber Week.

“Not a single attack on Israel’s citizens will be met with silence. The responsibility for such attacks lies with the countries and the terror groups that fund and guide them. There is a variety of possible responses to cyberattacks – in and outside of the cyber domain,” said Gantz.

The cyber arena will remain the main battlefield between Iran and Israel until mutual deterrence is built or the consequences become a burden too heavy to bear.