Hackers Penetrate ’Israeli’ Military Computer Networks

Local Editor

Hackers had managed to penetrate computer networks associated with the "Israeli" military in an espionage campaign that skillfully packaged existing attack software with trick emails.

Waylon Grange, a researcher with the Blue Coat [PRJCBB.UL] who discovered the campaign, said the vast majority of the hackers' software was cobbled together from widely available tools, such as the remote-access Trojan called Poison Ivy.

The hackers were likely working on a budget and had no need to spend much on tailored code, Grange said, adding that most of their work appeared to have gone into so-called social engineering, or human trickery.

Furthermore, the hackers sent emails to various military addresses that purported to show breaking military news according to Blue Coat Systems Inc.

Some of the emails included attachments that established "back doors" for future access by the hackers and modules that could download and run additional programs, according to Blue Coat.

Moreover, the Blue Coat Systems Inc. stated that most antivirus engines were unable to detect the software, the vast majority of which was cobbled together from tools widely available on the market, and that it sent signals to the hackers that it was in place.

The company firm further noted that the cyber attackers spoke Arabic because some of the data recovered in the investigation showed that was the default language set in one of the programming tools.

However, the Zionist military said it was not aware of any hacking.

In February, researchers at Russia-based Kaspersky Lab said they had discovered the first "advanced" Arabic-speaking hacking group dubbed Desert Falcons.

Kaspersky said the group operated from Palestine, Egypt and Turkey and particularly targeted military, government, media, and activists' computers.

In 2013, Arab hackers infiltrated Israeli websites, including that of the Knesset [parliament].

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team