How a string of hacks embarrassed cyber powerhouse Israel

Israel is known worldwide as a cyber powerhouse.

- Anat Peled

Yet hackers linked to its biggest adversary, Iran, have managed to pull off a series of successful breaches by using known vulnerabilities to attack institutions that aren't as well-defended as the country’s critical infrastructure.Israel requires a high standard of cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, such as its electric utility, but not for less important bodies and institutions such as hospitals, which have fallen victim to some of the attacks linked to Iran. Some current and former Israeli cyber officials and experts say Israel could better protect itself if the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, passed a cyber law that would expand the rules beyond critical infrastructure.

The attacks have largely focused on leaking documents through publicly known vulnerabilities that can be exploited by scanning computer networks for weaknesses or by launching classic phishing attacks, analysts said. The simple attacks are repeated in large numbers, which helps increase the chances of success:

Over the past two years, Iranian-linked hacking groups have leaked hundreds of thousands of internal emails and documents from government bodies. Some particularly embarrassing incidents included a data leak from Israel's National Defense College, in which hackers posted online the passport information of sraeli generals and officials from countries such as the U.S. and India. Other leaks include more than 15 years of internal Ministry of Justice documents and emails, and gun license applications from Israel’s Ministry of National Security, including applicants’ military records.