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Sources in the Israeli cybersecurity industry on Tuesday criticized the army's handling of cyber-attack threats after Hamas managed to spy on Israeli soldiers using the World Cup and applications dating.
Using face social media profiles, Hamas managed to get Israeli soldiers to download the apps. The applications allowed Hamas-controlled malware to be placed in Android smartphones and access to photos, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of soldiers stationed near the Gaza border and even allowed Hamas to control distance cameras and microphones.
>> Hamas spied hundreds of Israeli soldiers using fake world cups, dating apps
Some members of the industry describe Hamas as the most advanced non-state organization in cyberattacks. The fact that he used Google's official Play Store, the social media profiles that appeared to be reliable and relevant information in Hebrew, testifies to Hamas's ability to improve its tactics, they say.
Hamas was able to successfully download data from phones, including messages, emails, photos and videos that could embarrbad some of them. For senior officials, some data could be used for extortion.
A high-level source said that in the field of cybersecurity, this is considered a sophisticated attack and Israel would be wrong to underestimate it.
The apps were removed by Google from its Play Store, but this happened almost a week after the discovery of the operation.
While many soldiers know that their phones have been hacked and their information has been downloaded, Hamas could still record or film smartphones from soldiers who did not know it, according to an intelligence source. military.
The sources say that Israel is making a critical mistake by focusing only on raising awareness of such attacks, instead of also using the existing cybersecurity defenses to counter them. Senior officers can use their encrypted military cell phones, but if Hamas has taken control of their drivers' phones or radio operators – or someone in their offices – the encryption has no longer been encrypted. importance because their conversations are recorded and broadcast in real time to Hamas, said an expert in computer security.
"Today, for a few tens of thousands of dollars, it is possible to obtain hackers from countries in Eastern Europe and Asia capable of conduct cyberattacks of a very high standard, "says Nitzan Ziv, Vice President Control Point. "An organization that wants to attack Israel and has relevant information about soldiers can do it independently and can turn to people in those same countries, and we know how to say with certainty today that is something that happens, "added Ziv.
A senior military intelligence official said that "Hamas has expanded to other social networks, developing applications for the target audience of soldiers, marketing applications via Google, using civilian phone numbers.
"They started directly approaching women, women soldiers and these are things that never happened in the past, it seems like there are other similar incidents, there are very likely that other similar platforms ". the senior intelligence officer.
This is the fourth wave of Hamas cyberattacks against Israeli soldiers who managed to gather information. In this case, the platform only worked for a relatively short period with only a few hundred soldiers in just a few weeks, but in previous attempts – and perhaps also in the future – the Hamas may have learned and operated ways.
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