World braces for Iran-Israel cyberattacks following missile attack

Cyberattacks are likely to be high on the list of options Israel and Iran are considering this week as they map out retaliatory actions, experts say.

Why it matters: Iran’s drone and missile attack against Israel on Saturday brought the two nations into unprecedented territory.

• Israel’s military leaders have already vowed to respond to the attack.

The big picture: Israel and Iran have long had a fraught relationship, filled with covert operations and destructive cyberattacks.

• Iran’s weekend attack was the first time either country had launched a missile from its own territory toward the other.

What they’re saying: “The overt hostility and the overt physical aspects of the state-on-state confrontation moved things into a different sphere,” Andrew Borene, executive director for global security at Flashpoint, told Axios.

State of play: Cyberattacks tied to the Israel-Hamas conflict have already drawn in players from around the world.

• Politically motivated hackers have taken down emergency service applications, news sites and more throughout the conflict.
• Many of the groups involved are so-called hacktivist groups that researchers have tied to hackers based in Iran, Russia and elsewhere.

Threat level: Israel and Iran have the ability to launch destructive malware wipers, ransomware and other types of cyberattacks against each other, said Borene, who is also a former official for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

• Iranian government hackers deployed malware wipers against Albania in 2022. And the U.S. and Israel infected Iranian critical infrastructure with malware to disrupt a nuclear facility back in 2010.
• Iran has also been behind several cyberattacks targeting Israeli organizations during the ongoing Hamas conflict, Gil Messing, chief of staff at Israel-based Check Point Software, told Axios.

Between the lines: Cyber operations can give countries the ability to retaliate without risking mass casualties, Borene said.

Yes, but: The Israel National Cyber Directorate told Politico it didn’t see any “abnormal online activity” during the missile attack.

• Many hacking groups spent the weekend claiming responsibility for attacks that didn’t happen, analysts at intelligence group Flashpoint wrote in a blog post.

What’s next: Israel is still weighing its options for retaliation, and Western leaders have been trying to talk the country into a more diplomatic response to prevent further escalation.

• It could be a few days, or weeks, until Israel responds.