President Isaac Herzog’s Telegram account was hacked in an incident suspected to have criminal motivations, as confirmed by the President’s Residence. The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, is managing the situation, assuring the public that there is no risk of information leakage.
Furthermore, the hack has been resolved, and the account has been restored to President Herzog’s control. Dr. Gilad Leibovitch, an academic director with expertise in cybersecurity at Haifa’s Technion, suggested that such attacks often aim to obtain high-level intelligence information and frequently involve techniques like phishing. He emphasized the importance of implementing two-step verification on communication apps like Telegram to enhance security.
Additionally, this incident is part of a broader pattern of cyberattacks targeting Israel. A report by Slovak ESET cybersecurity company revealed that the Iranian hacker group OilRig hijacked legitimate websites to target Israeli organizations throughout 2021 and 2022. These campaigns collected various sensitive data, including browsing histories, cookies, usernames, and passwords.
At the same time, in April 2023, a hacker group identifying as “Anonymous Sudan” launched cyberattacks that disrupted the websites of major Israeli universities and Check Point, one of Israel’s largest cybersecurity companies. These incidents underscore the ongoing cybersecurity challenges faced by organizations and individuals alike in an era of escalating cyber threats.
