Enemy Israeli Government Websites are Crashing Due to a Cyberattack
According to a defence establishment source, this is the largest cyberattack ever launched against Israel.
Several Israeli government websites were taken offline on Monday as a result of an apparent cyberattack. The Israeli cyber authority confirmed that the attack was a DDoS (denial of service) attack that had blocked access to government websites and that all websites had been restored.
The websites of the Interior, Health, Justice, and Welfare Ministries, as well as the Prime Minister's Office, had been taken offline.
Earlier on Monday, a senior defence official confirmed to Haaretz that a massive cyberattack was launched against Israeli government websites on Monday evening, and cybersecurity industry sources said the operation was a large-scale distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
According to a defence establishment source, this was the largest cyberattack ever launched against Israel. They believe the attack was carried out by a state actor or a large organization, but they have yet to determine who is responsible.
The defence establishment and the National Cyber Directorate have declared a state of emergency to assess the extent of the damage while also investigating strategic Israeli websites and government infrastructure, such as Israel's electric and water companies, to see if they were also targeted.
According to the defence establishment, the attack targeted websites with the Government domain, which is used for all government websites except those related to defence. The government database is another website that uses this domain. Despite this, some websites can still be accessed through a smartphone.
Following the attack, Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel convened a meeting with Communications Ministry officials. Telecommunications companies have been working to restore service to the downed websites; service is being restored gradually.
According to the National Cyber Directorate: "A denial of service attack on a communications provider was discovered in the last few hours. As a result, access to several websites, including government websites, was temporarily halted. All of the websites are currently operational."
The announcement comes as the United States and other countries seek to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama administration's 2015 agreement to regulate Iran's nuclear program. Former President Trump backed out of the agreement in 2018.
Earlier this month, it was reported that negotiators were close to reaching an agreement. However, talks came to a halt after Russia demanded that its trade with Iran be shielded from US sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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