CYBER ATTACK AIMED AT OVER 120 ISRAELI TARGETS THWARTED

[DavidSling]

BYANNA AHRONHEIM

APRIL 26, 2017 12:16

The attack behaved in the same manner as a previous cyber attack carried out by OILRIG, one of the most active hacking organizations sponsored by the Iranian government.

Cyber hacking (illustrative). (photo credit:INGIMAGE)

Israel has thwarted a large scale cyber attack targeting over 120 Israeli organizations in recent days, the National Authority for Cyber Defense announced on Wednesday.

The attacks, which ran between April 19th to April 23rd, came in the form of malicious emails originating from both the servers of an academic institution as well as a private commercial company and targeted various companies in the economy sector, government ministries, public institutions and private individuals in academia and research.

The bug (CVE-2017-0199) exploited a weakness in Microsoft systems, specifically Microsoft Word, and the company has worked to patch vulnerabilities identified by the attack. “Microsoft has released a security update that prevents the attacker from exploiting this vulnerability, and we recommend that you install it,” the agency said in a statement.

A warning of this sort of attack, was given by the agency on April 12th, and was later exposed by the hacking group ShadowBrokers. According to the agency, the attack behaved in the same manner as a previous cyber attack carried out by OILRIG, one of the most active hacking organizations sponsored by the Iranian government.

The notice of the thwarted attacks comes just two days after the heads of the Shin Bet security service, the Mossad and the IDF’s deputy chief of staff, as well as other senior defense officials, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that the numerous powers given to the Cyber Defense Authority could impede the ability to thwart cyber attacks on Israel.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-thwarts-cyber-attacks-aimed-at-over-120-targets-489010

 

[DavidSling]

Israel says it repelled a wide-ranging cyberattack
April 27, 2017 by The Associated Press

Trainees work in front of their computers at the "Cyber Gym" center, where IT and infrastructure company employees train to defend against cyber attacks on October 30, 2013 near the Israeli city of Hadera. The facility, a series of small buildings in the shadow of the looming Orot Rabin power station on Israel's northern coastline, was inaugurated this month by the Israel Electric Corp (IEC), which has experienced its fair share of cyber attacks. (Photo Credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it has repelled a large cyberattack on government offices and private citizens.

The national cyber bureau at the prime minister’s office said Wednesday that hackers posed as a “legitimate organization” and targeted “about 120 organizations, government offices, public institutions and private citizens.”

The Haaretz daily said Israel believes the attack was directed by a foreign country with a group of hackers.

It said the attack was aimed at infiltrating organizations involved in civilian research, development and “advanced technologies.”

Israel established the national cyber bureau several years ago to coordinate its defense against attacks on its infrastructure and networks. Israel has established itself as a world leader in cyber technology innovation.

http://fifthdomain.com/2017/04/27/israel-says-it-repelled-a-wide-ranging-cyberattack/