Will Hezbollah Launch Cyber Attacks On Israel?

Uploaded on 2024-09-27 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-Iran, GOVERNMENT-Defence, FREE TO VIEW

After the attack on Hezbollah personal devices in Lebanon, concerns are growing over the Islamic paramilitary group's potential for retaliatory cyber capabilities against Israel, widely seen as the likely perpetrator, though it remains silent over the incident.,

Hezbollah promised to retaliate against Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers and other radio devices across Lebanon on Tuesday 17th September, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others.

The US State Department designated Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997.

The explosions raised concerns across the region, demonstrating just how vulnerable modern societies have become with increased reliance on internet-connected devices. Details of the pager attack are yet to emerge, although reports suggest the devices were made by a shell company that embedded small, undetectable explosives inside.

Hezbollah swiftly responded with a massive rocket barrage on northern Israel. However, the Iranian-backed group is also believed to have cyber capabilities that could be used in retaliation. Hezbollah is considered one of Israel’s most formidable enemies, with precision-guided missiles, well-trained troops, and cyber capabilities built over two decades. Experts say Hezbollah and Iran are also involved in global drug trafficking, using those funds to finance constant upgrades to their cyber capabilities.

Cyber incidents have notably increased across the Middle East and according to Israel's National Cyber Directorate, cyber-attacks shifted from data leaks and influence campaigns to causing disruption and damage.
They identified 800 “significant incidents” between the start of the war and the end of 2023.

These incidents included attacks on critical infrastructure as well as individual targets, which have been attributed to Iranian threat groups

During this time, efforts were made to reduce vulnerabilities in hospital systems and control centres in the energy and water sectors, while also strengthening resilience in around 160 local authorities and supply chain entities.

In the early weeks of the war, Israel accused Iran and Hezbollah of attempting a cyberattack on a hospital in northern Israel. The attack was thwarted before it could disrupt hospital operations, but the National Cyber Directorate confirmed that “sensitive information” had been stolen from the hospital’s systems.

Neither side is immune to cyber attacks or operations like the pager attack in Lebanon, and both are racing to prevent attacks while targeting each other.

JPost | Economic Times | AlJazeera | Reuters | CBS

Image: @SquadShia

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