Israel warns of massive cyber-attacks on Iran

Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas. Pic/Israeli Army/AFP

Israel's National Cyber Directorate warns of an increase in attacks for the purposes of consciousness ahead of the Iranian Jerusalem Day that will be celebrated this Friday, April 5. The Directorate said that this year, against the background of the "Iron Swords" war against Hamas in Gaza, the hostile discourse on the Internet increased and called for cyber-attacks against the Israeli organisations and people on the Internet.

The threat from Iran is being organised under the hashtag #OpJerusalem, planned for April 5, and #OpIsrael, planned for April 7, which call on people from around the world to attack Israel on these days. The Directorate predicts that there may be an increase in attacks on websites, attacks that disrupt services and the spread of false information. The Iranian Jerusalem Day takes place every year on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan and is characterised by demonstrations throughout Iran, the Palestinian Authority as well as anti-Israel offensive activity in cyberspace.

Every year during this period, attacks are identified, often less sophisticated and of the type that is easier to carry out on a wide scale, such as defacing websites, taking over smart home systems, distributing text messages containing phishing messages, hacking into social networks, infiltrating company databases and information leaks, alongside publications that boast of attacks which did not necessarily occur.

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