Israel’s National Cyber Directorate said it had detected an increase in the “scope and sophistication” of the phishing attempts made by Iranian hackers in Israel.
Phishing refers to sending false texts and/or e mails in an attempt to trick people into letting hackers gain access to their computers and personal information and passwords.
One such phishing attack came in what the Directorate described as a “tempting and personal job offer” from Israel Rafael Advanced Defense Systems that lands on a LinkedIn page with a suspicious link.
Another comes in the form of an email from the National Cyber Directorate urging the download of a security update.
There is also one that offers a significant sum of money for those who fill in personal details in a link provided, and another is in the form of an invitation to a researcher/scientist to an academic conference with a link that is harmful to the user’s computer.
“The Iranian attempts have become more sophisticated, more focused and really tailored and adapted to the interests of the target,” says Tom Alexandrovitch, head of the technological defense division in the national cyber system.
The data of the Directorate shows that at least 15 different campaigns originating from different Iranian attack groups have been distributed in recent months. As part of each such campaign, thousands of targeted emails are sent to various types of companies and organizations in the private and public sector. The increase indicates that the Iranians are looking for a foothold in organizations, and phishing messages are a common method of launching a cyber-attack if the target actually opens the door to the attacker.
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