Israeli authorities say Iran is sending fake emergency alerts disguised as Home Front Command messages, spreading panic with false claims and hijacking users’ devices with malicious software.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli authorities are warning that Iranian intelligence is conducting a large-scale fraud campaign targeting Israeli cellphone devices with SMS messages featuring threats, spreading misinformation or carrying malicious software.

The National Cyber Directorate said on Thursday that Iran is engaged in a phishing campaign, sending false emergency alerts to Israeli phones, with messages disguised as official warnings from Israel’s Home Front Command.

The messages include links to sites that encourage users to download what appear to be apps providing information on the location of nearby bomb shelters.

However, the applications are, in fact, spyware capable of compromising cellular devices, collecting personal information, and stealing login information for various accounts saved on a device.

Beyond the phishing messages, Iran is also working to spread misinformation in Israel, with the goal of sowing fear, confusion, and distrust in local authorities.

Some messages include direct threats, while others promote Iranian propaganda, including false claims that a number of Israeli leaders have been killed in the ongoing war with Iran.

“Netanyahu is dead,” one message sent en masse to Israeli cellphones reads. “Your death is coming and soon the gates of hell will be opened on you.”

“Before the hellfire of Iranian missiles destroys you, leave Palestine.”

According to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth, the National Cyber Directorate believes that Iranian hackers have breached Israeli customer messaging systems, using SMS message lists to send out fraudulent and threatening messages to numbers included in the contact databases.

Cybersecurity firm Check Point has said that the campaign demonstrates a relatively high level of sophistication, using forged verification certificates in some instances, giving the outgoing messages the appearance of being legitimate communications by the Home Front Command.

The post ‘Netanyahu is dead’ – Iran sowing fear, confusion among Israelis with bogus messages appeared first on World Israel News.

The Shin Bet warned that Iranian agents typically approach their targets through WhatsApp, Telegram, or email, crafting different cover stories for each targeted individual.

By Noah Michaeli, TPS

Israel uncovered around 200 Iranian cyberattacks attempts targeting Israeli civilians, including prominent figures, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) disclosed on Monday.

According to the Shin Bet, the hackers sought to access personal devices and information such as home addresses, personal connections, and places of frequent presence.

“This represents a significant additional threat in Iran’s campaign against Israel, aimed at carrying out assassination attacks,” a Shin Bet official said.

This information, the Shin Bet stressed, was intended to facilitate attacks against these individuals using Israeli operatives recruited locally. In recent months, authorities thwarted nine attempts by Israelis recruited by Iran to carry out missions in Israel.

The Shin Bet warned that Iranian agents typically approach their targets through WhatsApp, Telegram, or email, crafting different cover stories for each targeted individual.

The goal is to convince their intended victim to download an application that either installs malware on their personal device or directs them to a fake website.

Targets are then asked to provide login credentials for their personal or organizational email accounts, which the hackers can then use to gain access to the victim’s email or computer.

Upon identifying the campaign and its scope, the Shin Bet warned the targeted individuals.

In October, authorities arrested an Israeli man for spying on a nuclear scientist who Iranian agents wanted to assassinate, a couple who gathered intelligence on sensitive national infrastructure sites and high-profile academic figures, and a separate plot to assassinate the mayor of a large city and a scientist.

The post Israel uncovers 200 Iranian cyberattacks, phishing attempts against Israelis appeared first on World Israel News.