Israel confirms Iran launched Yom Kippur cyberattack on hospital

An Israeli official said the attack crossed a “red line” by attempting to endanger patients’ lives.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli authorities confirmed on Wednesday that a massive cyberattack targeting an Israeli medical center on Yom Kippur — the holiest day of the Jewish calendar — was launched by Iran.

The National Cyber Directorate said in a media statement that in recent months, it has detected a wave of attacks targeting third-party companies that provide critical computing services to Israeli institutions, including hospitals.

“Among the bodies that were attacked in the wave of Iranian attacks was Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), where the attackers tried to interfere with hospital operations without success,” the Cyber Directorate said in its press release.

While the attack led to the leak of patient data, the hospital remained operational and continued serving patients without interruption.

“In the case of Shamir Medical Center, beyond the data leak, the very attempt to harm a hospital in Israel is a red line that could have endangered lives,” said Yossi Karadi, head of the National Cyber Directorate.

Karadi praised Israel’s quick response, saying his office had taken “swift, decisive action” that helped contain the impact of the attack. He added that “quick communication” between the hospital and the National Cyber Directorate was key to mitigating potential damage.

Iranian cyberattacks have become increasingly frequent in recent years, but officials say such incidents have tripled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

“It is a silent war, one which is not visible,” said Aviram Atzaba, the National Cyber Directorate’s head of international cooperation, in a May 2024 interview with AFP.

Atzaba noted that Israel has invested heavily in building an advanced defense infrastructure to detect and counter cyber threats, especially those launched by enemy states like Iran.

“For the past two years, we have been developing a cyber dome against cyberattacks, which functions like the Iron Dome against rockets,” Atzaba said. “With cyber dome, all sources are fed into a large data pool that enables a view of the big picture and allows for a coordinated national response.”