Amid the ongoing escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict, several hacker groups have entered the fray, intensifying their cyber efforts in support of either side.
The conflict was triggered when Hamas launched a significant attack on Israel, unleashing thousands of rockets and deploying fighters to the southern region of Israel. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, leading to casualties and injuries on both sides.
Beyond the likely involvement of state-sponsored actors in the cyber domain, hacktivist groups aligned with both sides have escalated their cyberattacks.
According to a timeline compiled by cybersecurity consultant Julian Botham, Anonymous Sudan initiated hacktivist attacks against Israel shortly after Hamas fired its initial rockets. The group targeted Israel's emergency warning systems, claiming responsibility for the disruption of alerting applications. The Jerusalem Post, Israel's largest English-language daily newspaper, also fell victim to an attack by Anonymous Sudan.
Pro-Hamas group Cyber Av3ngers targeted the Israel Independent System Operator (Noga), an organization responsible for the power grid, asserting that they compromised its network and took down its website. The group further aimed its cyberattacks at the Israel Electric Corporation, the primary electrical power supplier in the region, as well as a power plant.
Russian-affiliated group Killnet launched attacks against Israeli government websites.
The Palestinian hacker collective known as Ghosts of Palestine issued a global call to action, inviting hackers worldwide to target both private and public infrastructure in Israel and the United States. Another group, Libyan Ghosts, defaced small Israeli websites in solidarity with Hamas.
These hacktivist groups primarily employed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt their targets. While some claimed significant disruptions, it is common for hacktivists to exaggerate their impact. For instance, assertions by hackers linked to Iran and others regarding a cyberattack on Israel's Iron Dome air defense system are likely overstated.
Conversely, groups like Killnet and Anonymous Sudan, with ties to Russia, have a track record of launching highly disruptive DDoS attacks. They have previously targeted major companies, including Microsoft, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
On the pro-Israel side, a group named ThreatSec asserted that it compromised the infrastructure of Gaza-based ISP AlfaNet. Hacktivists allegedly operating from India have attacked Palestinian government websites, rendering some inaccessible.
Additionally, a group called Garuna expressed its support for Israel, while TeamHDP focused on cyberattacks against the websites of Hamas and the Islamic University of Gaza.
In a recent report, Microsoft disclosed that it had detected heightened cyber activity from a Gaza-based threat group known as Storm-1133 in early 2023. This group is believed to operate in the interest of Hamas and has targeted Israeli organizations in the defense, energy, and telecommunications sectors.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has spilled into the cyber realm, with hacktivist groups amplifying their efforts to support their respective causes. These developments underscore the growing significance of cybersecurity in contemporary conflicts.
No comments:
Post a Comment