The IDF uncovered a new method used by Hamas to collect data on the IDF – creating fake Facebook profiles of beautiful girls.
The IDF announced on Wednesday its discovery of a plot by Hamas to spy on soldiers by hacking their mobile phones after posing as women and befriending them on social media.
Hamas lured potential targets by engaging them through dozens of fake Facebook profiles of attractive young women, many of them based on stealing the identities of unsuspecting civilians, the IDF explained.
The terrorist group found social media accounts of soldiers by browsing through selfies, tags and posts, and then targeted them.
Hamas operatives would ask to befriend the target. After introductory chit-chat, the operative would send the target a few pictures, such as mirror shots and beach portraits, to prove that the person behind the profile is real. The next stage was for the operative to offer the target a chance to chat on video, while saying that all the apps the target has won’t work for “her,” and that “she” needed him to download another one.
“She” would send him a link to an app called “apkpk.” He would download the “app” she requested.
The app turned out to be spyware, which enabled Hamas to collect a broad array of data from the soldier‘s phone, including the streaming of video from the camera and audio from the microphone.
The IDF’s Information Security Unit of the Intelligence Directorate exposed this new way that Hamas has been using the internet to their advantage.
Though some IDF soldiers’ phones were infected with the nefarious program before it was found, the Intelligence Directorate says it was successful in containing the new threat and had identified the fake profiles before they could target any more soldiers.
In a short video clip released by the IDF, an unidentified soldier, whose face was covered by a shadow to protect his identity, said he had been approached by a “woman” in a Facebook message and struck up a friendship.
“The connection got stronger with time,” he said. At her suggestion, he said he downloaded an application to talk, but the app didn’t work. “Suddenly I discovered that she isn’t a girl. She is Hamas,” he said.
A senior IDF official said dozens of soldiers had fallen for the trick. “It had potential for great damage. Until now, the damage was minimal,” he said.
By: World Israel News Staff