Hamas' cyber battalions take on Israel
The cyber war between the Israelis and the Palestinians is intensifying, with each side racing to penetrate the enemy’s sensitive sites.
While Palestinians and Israelis do plenty of fighting on traditional battlefields — the most recent such engagement being the Gaza War of summer 2014 — a new front has emerged that is just as vicious, albeit devoid of bloodshed and bullets. The so-called cyber war is fought on the Internet this time.
The latest round of confrontations between Palestinians and Israelis occurred on the Internet April 9, when Israeli hackers leaked the Palestinian Population Registry containing data on 4 million Palestinians and published personal information about 700 Palestinian Authority employees, among them ministers and journalists.
The Israeli attack came in retaliation for actions by Palestinian hackers April 7, when they penetrated Israeli websites — among them those belonging to the office of the Israeli prime minister, the Ministries of Defense and Education, the Shin Bet, the stock exchange and the Tel Aviv police.
The hacking of Palestinian and Israeli websites can be just as dangerous as conducting military operations on the ground. Attacks on these sensitive websites — such as those belonging to military bases, airports and banks — can potentially result in devastating losses. These attacks could expose bank accounts or military and security installations and are considered a threat to national security.
