Israel’s Cyber Defense Chief Addresses Surge in Iranian-Backed Attacks and the Need for Strategic Response

The recent surge in cyber attacks against Israel, which occurred just days before the country was attacked by Iran with more than 300 drones and missiles, has been a major concern for Tel Aviv’s cyber defense chief, Gaby Portnoy. According to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, cyber attacks against the country surged in the first three months after the Hamas-led massacre, reaching 2.5 times higher than previous years, with 3,380 incidents recorded. Many of these attacks were linked to Tehran and its allies, including Hezbollah.

Prior to the attack by Tehran, hackers associated with Iran claimed to have infiltrated Israeli radar systems. However, Tel Aviv’s cyber defense agency refuted these claims, stating that no abnormal activity was detected during that time. Despite Israel’s advanced capabilities in cybersecurity, some recent attacks resulted in the theft of patient data from hospitals in Haifa and Safed. One incident was linked to the Hezbollah support group Lebanese Cedar.

In response to the growing Iranian threat in cyberspace, Israel has invested heavily in a cyber summit aimed at enhancing strategies against Iranian hacking activities and anticipating potential technological disruptions. According to Mohammed Soliman of the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, the conflict between Israel and Iran is one of the oldest rivalries globally in this domain. While Israel has technological advantages due to U.S support, Iran is considered a rising cyber power backed by Russia and China.

Chuck Freilich of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University noted that Iran’s cyber activities target infrastructure sabotage, intelligence gathering, and propaganda dissemination with support from Russia and China as well as a focus on cyber education and training over the years they have been learning from Israel’s expertise