On October 8, 2023, the official website of Hamas was hacked and taken down by an Indian hacker group called Indian Cyber Force, in support of Israel. The group also attacked the websites of the Palestine Telecommunication Company and the Palestine National Bank. The attack on Hamas’s website was announced through a tweet from X. This attack is part of the ongoing cyber war between Israel and Palestine, which has seen several attacks on both sides.It is worth noting that a previous cyberattack by the Indian Cyber Force on Israel did not cause much damage. As of October 9, 2023, there are no further reports of cyberattacks by either side. The situation remains tense, with both sides continuing to engage in military operations.
Pro-Israeli hacktivists are also active. For instance, on Sunday afternoon, the official Hamas website was taken down, allegedly by a hacker group called India Cyber Force. Other pro-Israeli gangs include SilenOne, Garuna Ops, and Team UCC Ops.
In Pakistan, the group that goes by the name “Team Insane PK” said that it hacked a hydroelectric power plant in Israel and was planning to release data later.
Group-IB, a Singapore-based cybersecurity company, said on Sunday through its Threat Intelligence platform that various threat actor groups have entered the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We’ve seen that threat actor groups are entering the fray and launching attacks on government websites and IT systems amid the escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” researchers said on X.
Israel is reeling from a deadly attack by Hamas militants who broke through barriers around Gaza early on Saturday morning and roamed at will, killing hundreds of civilians in Israeli towns. With Israel now bombing Gaza, where Hamas is based, the attack toll reached 600 on Sunday night, with both sides taking heavy casualties.
Israel’s defense chiefs are facing growing questions over how the disaster could have happened in a country whose intelligence apparatus is considered to be one of the best in the world.