Pierluigi Paganini
January 31, 2023
Threat actors have launched a massive hacking campaign aimed at Israeli chemical companies operating in the occupied territories. A group, named Electronic Quds Force, is threatening companies’ engineers and workers and are inviting them to resign from their positions.
The attacks are retaliation against the Israeli government and its policy against Palestinians, the hackers accuse Tel Aviv of violence.
“Our advice to scientists working in the chemical plants is to quit their job, hunt for a new one, and find sanctuary in a location where we are not present,” the message sent by the Electronic Quds Force. “Leave their employment. Look for a new one.” “This is while we have a strong presence anyplace,”
“We confirm that your job in chemical factories presents a threat to your life; but, we will never hesitate to melt your bodies with chemicals the next time an act of violence is performed against Palestinians.”
The message is clear and hackers claim to be able to interfere with the operations at the plant operated by the chemical companies potentially causing the loss of human lives.
The tension is very high during this period, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that January is “the bloodiest month in the West Bank since 2015, during which, to date, 35 martyrs were killed by the Israeli occupation army and settlers, including 8 children, in addition to an elderly woman.”
“Jenin Governorate recorded the highest number Of the martyrs since the beginning of this year, 20 martyrs.” he added.
The messages were published on the Telegram channel of the group along with images of Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) allegedly belonging to one of the chemical companies that are targets of the cyber attacks.
The number of operations conducted by the Israeli military in the Palestinian villages is reportedly increased in the last week, according to the United Nations, 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians living in the West Bank in the previous 16 years’ worth of data.
The cyber attacks on both sides are increasing, in September 2022, Pro-Palestinian Hacking Group GhostSec claimed to have compromised 55 Berghof programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used by Israeli organizations as part of a Free Palestine campaign.
GhostSec also published a video demonstrating a successful log-in to the PLC’s admin panel along with screenshots of an HMI screen showing some phases of the attack, including the block of the PLC.
The group also shared other screenshots, claiming to have gained access to another control panel that can be used to modify the level of chlorine and pH levels in the water.
In August 2022, the hacking group ALtahrea Team knocked down the websites of the ports of Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, and Eilat.
The group also targeted hundreds of Israeli websites, including the website of the municipality of the city of Sderot.
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