Israeli public prosecutors on Thursday charged a man working in Defense Minister Benny Gantz's home with spying for the "Black Shadow" hacker group, which was presented as being linked to Iran.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice published an indictment issued against Omri Goren Gorokhovsky, 37, a resident of the city of Lod (central), who was arrested on the fourth of November.
"Gorokhovsky and his wife worked as cleaners in Gantz's house" near Tel Aviv, and were arrested on charges of spying for Iran, the indictment said.
The regulation says that Gorokhovsky contacted the group via the Telegram application on or around October 31, 2021, with an offer to transmit information from Gantz's home.
The accused used a pseudonym to identify himself, saying that he "works in the house of the Israeli Defense Minister," and indicated his ability to help the group in various ways.
indictment
According to the indictment, Gorokhovsky told a representative of the Black Shadow group that in exchange for a "money" he would transmit the information via software he implanted into a USB device that would allow him to hack Gantz's computer.
To prove his credibility, Gorokhovsky sent photos from the minister's home showing his office, computers, and telephone, military souvenirs given to the minister in his previous position when he was chief of staff, as well as photographs of the minister and his family, and a property tax payment receipt.
In a separate statement, the Internal Security Service said Gorokhovsky was unable to access "classified materials" due to the security system at Gantz's home, and the speedy arrest of his.
"As a result, no such material was passed on to the sources he contacted," he added.
The agency also announced that it had decided to conduct an investigation into the examinations of employees who work with ministers and in their homes, and there was no immediate comment from the Iranian authorities about the Israeli statement.
In 2018, the Shin Bet security service announced the arrest of former Israeli Energy Minister Ronen Segev, on charges of spying for Iran.