In recent years Israel has prided itself on becoming a cyberdefense superpower, including branding the southern city of Beersheba “the cyber capital of Israel.” But even so, outside hackers continue to take aim at Israeli institutions and organizations.
On Aug. 31, for instance, a computer intrusion occurred against the websites of the Haifa, Eilat, and Jaffa ports and the tourism site of Old Acre. Some reports claimed that it was Iranian hackers, but the Iraqi hacker group Al-tahrea claimed responsibility. Taking down the website apparently didn’t impact the activity of the ports themselves, but it served as a warning to the port operators and local authorities in the region.