Intelligence

Israeli Candidate for PM Benny Gantz hacked by Iranian cyberspies

Israeli media reported this week that the Shin Bet internal security service warned Benny Gantz that Iranian cyber spies hacked his cellphone exposing his personal data.

Iranian hackers targeted the campaign of the former Israeli military chief Benny Gantz who is a leading challenger to Prime Minister Netanyahu in next elections.

According to the Israeli intelligence, the cyber spies hacked the
Gantz’s mobile device putting “his personal details and addresses in hostile hands.”

“The cellphone of Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest rival and the chair of the political alliance Kahol Lavan, was hacked by Iranian intelligence, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Thursday evening.” reported the Haaretz website.

According to Gantz’s staff, the hackers aimed at damaging his political campaign by leaking the stolen data just weeks before Israel’s April 9 elections “raises important questions.”

“We don’t comment on issues that are at the heart of state security. It is important to emphasize that this incident happened four years after Gantz finished his tenure as chief of staff, [a fact] that raises many questions regarding the timing of the report’s publication.” reads an official statement released by Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party.

A campaign official speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that threat actors hacked the Gantz’s device several months ago.

Benny Gantz attends a campaign convention March 11, 2019. Israel says Iran has hacked his phone.AFP (Source Haaretz)

According to the report by journalist Amit Segal, two officials from Israel’s Shin Bet security service warned Gantz five weeks ago, during the election campaign. The Shin Bet officials told Benny Gantz that hackers breached his private cellphone. The hack has happened during the election campaign and the Israeli intelligence blamed Iranians cyberspies.

Early March, security experts at Microsoft warned of economic damages caused by the activity of Iran-linked hacking groups that are working to penetrate systems, businesses, and governments worldwide.

According to Microsoft, the attackers already caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages by stealing secret data and wiping information from computer networks of 200 companies over the past two years.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – Benny Gantz, Israeli)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.

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