Cybercriminals have joined the Israel-Hamas conflict

The Israel-Hamas conflict has shocked the entire world as the tension between the Palestinians and Israelis exploded earlier this month.

However, the worst situation has escalated after numerous cybercrime groups have entered the fight to contribute to their respective allies. Based on reports, some malicious cybercriminal groups have targeted the organisations and infrastructure in Israel and Gaza by deploying a range of cyberattacks, such as DDoS assaults.

In a recent campaign, these attackers have transitioned their focus to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Industrial Control Systems.

 

The Israel-Hamas conflict has led to the discovery of vulnerabilities in multiple agencies.

 

The Israel-Hamas conflict has bred a comprehensive analysis that exposed vulnerabilities in several ICSs, making them prone to exploitation due to the lack of security measures.

On the other hand, numerous Israeli organisations have accidentally exposed their Modbus, a crucial SCADA communications protocol, to potential attacks. Some researchers also uncovered about 150 open Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) ports, facilitating communication between MES (manufacturing execution systems) and SCADA.

On the Palestinian side, the conflict has borne similar lapses in security after the emergence of exposed Modbus and MQTT systems, along with vulnerabilities in Siemens automation and Symantec systems.

These findings have allowed various cybercriminal organisations to pick sides in the conflict. The first one to express their allegiance is the group known as Predatory Sparrow. This group has an alleged ties to the Israeli government.

Conversely, the Palestinians have received support from the Anonymous Sudan hacktivist group. This group has targeted Israel’s emergency warning systems and conducts attacks on The Jerusalem Post, a prominent Israeli newspaper.

In conclusion, the Israel-Hamas conflict will divide more cybercrime groups in the digital realm as soon as the war continues. Various hacking groups will also potentially reveal their picks between the two nations as the conflict intensifies their efforts to disrupt and damage both sides.

These attacks that target critical infrastructures and media outlets show how these cyber criminals could impact countries during modern conflicts. Entities involved in this war should reinforce their security measures to counter these threats effectively.