“Israel”: 43% Surge in Cyberattacks, Many from Iran and Hezbollah

By Staff, Agencies

“Israel’s” Cyber Directorate released its yearly report for 2023, which shows a noteworthy surge in cyber event in comparison to the previous year, marking an increase of approximately 43%. The document released on Sunday also highlights that 800 cyber incidents, possessing significant damage potential, were successfully prevented between October 7 and December 31, 2023.

This represents a substantial escalation in the frequency of cyberattacks targeting “Israel”.

The report indicates that of the 13040 reports registered in 2023 by organizations and individuals, nearly 68% were logged during the war on Gaza. Furthermore, 41% of these reports pertained to infringements on social networks and WhatsApp accounts [a 2.5-fold increase from the previous year], around 25% were related to phishing attempts, and 13% involved breaches into IT systems.

According to the “Israeli” reports, a notable percentage of these attacks were orchestrated by factions associated with Iran or Hezbollah.

Other sectors that became the focal point for attack attempts include the communication, government, finance and local governance sectors. Hospitals were frequently targeted during the attack attempts, with “Ziv Medical Center” in Safed - a facility at the northern border - becoming a key target for the Islamic Republic's hackers.