Coinciding with severe tensions in Jerusalem in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel has warned of possible cyber attacks by hackers on the occasion of the “Iranian Quds Day.”
On Sunday, the Israeli National Internet Directorate issued its annual warning once morest possible cyber-attacks that come under the slogan “#OPJerusalem”, according to the Times of Israel.
International Quds Day was launched by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1979, and it falls on the last Friday of Ramadan, which this year coincides with April 29.
Iran commemorates this day with anti-Israel speeches, events and mass rallies. In 2020, several sites that were targeted showed a video simulating the bombing of Israeli cities and messages threatening the destruction of the Israeli state.
Significant increase in cyberattacks
The Israeli Internet Directorate said that there has been a significant increase in attempted cyber attacks over the past month, especially “DDos” attacks, or denial of service attacks, in which attackers infiltrate to disrupt the availability of the website or distort it and change its contents.
It stated that it has reached out to organizations to provide them with a set of recommendations to enhance the security of its system and has “actively reached out to web hosting companies” to bolster their defenses as well.
Last week, a group of pro-Iranian hackers claimed responsibility for a cyber attack that temporarily disrupted the Israel Airports Authority website.
In such attacks, hackers usually try to deface the sites they can access, erase the homepage and replace it with pro-Palestinian messages, said cybersecurity consultant Inat Myron.
She added that the aim of the attacks was to create panic, but said that this type of business is not dangerous.
