Israel bombed two Hamas cyber targets
Amid the recent flareup in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israeli military said it bombed two objectives in the Gaza Strip that housed centers for Hamas cyber operations.
The first strike took place last Friday on May 14, 2021, while the second took place earlier today, on May 19.
According to the official Israel Air Force Twitter account, the first strike hit "a cyber-equipment storage site in the northern Gaza Strip belonging to Hamas military intelligence" that was apparently being used as an impromptu data center.
לפני זמן קצר, ובמאמץ משותף של אגף התקשוב וההגנה בסייבר, אמ״ן וחה״א, מטוס קרב תקף אתר אחסנת ציוד סייבר של המודיעין הצבאי של חמאס בצפון רצועת עזה. pic.twitter.com/MzEpxHnT68
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 14, 2021
In a second airstrike today, the Israeli military said it hit a "hideout apartment [that] was used by the terror operatives for offensive cyber activity against Israeli targets."
"The apartment was located adjacent to a kindergarten, proving once again that the Hamas terror organization deliberately endangers civilians by placing its military infrastructure in the heart of densely populated civilian areas," the Israeli Air Force said.
במהלך הלילה, חיל-האוויר והשב"כ סיכלו באמצעות תקיפה אווירית של מטוסי קרב, שלושה פעילים של ארגון הטרור חמאס, בדירת מסתור מבצעית אשר שמשה את מערך הסייבר של הארגון בעיר עזה. תקיפה זו הינה חלק מעשרות פעילויות מבצעיות מול מערך הסייבר של הארגון. pic.twitter.com/AdpjwZg4PZ
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 19, 2021
The two airstrikes come after Israeli military officials have asked Gaza Strip residents to turn off security cameras last week in both homes and businesses.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the cameras could be hacked by Hamas cyber operatives to spy on residents or Israeli troop movements.
פרסום ראשון: תושבים בעוטף עזה התבקשו לנתק מצלמות אבטחה בבתים ובעסקים, זאת בעקבות חשש לפיו חמאס מפעיל לוחמת סייבר, משתלט על המערכות ועלול לאסוף מידע מודיעני . עוד התבקשו התושבים לנתק את המערכות מרשת האינטרנט
— matan tzuri מתן צורי (@MatanTzuri) May 13, 2021
This marks the second and third time that Israel used airstrikes to attack supposed Hamas offensive cyber facilities in Palestine.
The IDF carried out a first attack in May 2019 when it bombed a building it believed to be the Hamas cyber unit's headquarters in what security experts described as the first kinetic response to a cyber-attack.
CLEARED FOR RELEASE: We thwarted an attempted Hamas cyber offensive against Israeli targets. Following our successful cyber defensive operation, we targeted a building where the Hamas cyber operatives work.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 5, 2019
HamasCyberHQ.exe has been removed. pic.twitter.com/AhgKjiOqS7
Catalin Cimpanu
is a cybersecurity reporter who previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers.