Intensification of cyberwar between Iran and Israel
In the previous 2 years, Israel and Iran shifted to an increasingly public forum when it comes to cyber attacks. The objectives has changed, and the operations became less covert.
Three of Iran’s state-owned biggest steel companies stopped working after facing cyberattacks in late June. These biggest steel companies were attacked by a hacking group who admitted it on social media as a response to ‘the aggression of the Islamic Republic.’
After that, Israel’s defense secretary ordered an investigation into the leaked video which showed the damage to the steel plants. This incident was soon followed by the Israeli Security Agency’s statement (Shin Bet) that a May cyber operation by Iran was set to be out of the cyber domain. With these two incidents, it is clear that the cyber conflict between these two countries has become more public in the previous 2 years.
Israel and Iran shifted to a public forum and their objective has changed from defense targets to violating critical infrastructure and civilian lives. With larger public exposure, the greater the risks of extending beyond cyberspace with the influence of other areas of this conflict as well.