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Not just rockets: Palestinian Islamic Jihad hackers targeting Israelis, NGO warns

“It is possible that by operating cameras and microphones remotely, they will try to degrade people or even blackmail them into performing various actions.”

By World Israel News Staff

It appears that Israel’s war with the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, which has been launching deadly rockets across the border, is fighting the Jewish state on yet another front – namely, social media.

During the recent fighting in Gaza, PIJ has been utilizing bots on Facebook to hack into Israelis’ mobile phones, according to the Digital Research division of Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu

Over the past weekend, the organization monitored a number of profiles suspected of being operated by Islamic Jihad and other suspicious players working to hack into the phones and computers of Israeli citizens by distributing malicious links.

“We have already located three that are utilized by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and have located multiples others that are probable,” an Im Tirtzu spokesperson told World Israel News.

The activity was first identified in groups of residents of the south and later among those affiliated with the national camp, current affairs groups, and more, the NGO said in a press release Sunday. Some profiles have reportedly been running for years and boast thousands of followers.

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“This is a particularly disturbing phenomenon. Trying to lure citizens into malicious links posing as lottery sites, vacation booking sites, sites for watching free sports and especially dating sites,” said Dov Trachtman, head of the division.

“This has several purposes,” he continued.

“First, access to personal information and access to bank accounts, social networks, or classified and sensitive information if soldiers or officials are involved. It is also possible that by operating cameras and microphones remotely, they will try to degrade people or even blackmail them into performing various actions.

“The recommendation is to always be suspicious of links from strangers, no matter if they have 100 friends or 15,000 followers. Keep antivirus software intact and, of course, report and warn others about any suspicious activity,” he advised.