JERUSALEM – While Tel Aviv was preoccupied with the security escalation on the Gaza front and the accompanying discussions to launch a large-scale military operation on the besieged enclave, the failure of the Iron Dome to intercept some of the rockets fired by the Palestinian resistance that landed in populated areas raised questions about the effectiveness of this system in providing security and safety for Israelis.
In light of the confusion and panic experienced by the residents of the settlements surrounding Gaza after the Iron Dome failed to intercept shells fired from the Strip on Tuesday evening and Wednesday night, a hacker group calling itself "Anonymous Sudan" announced that it had penetrated Israel's warning systems and the Iron Dome system, disrupting and disrupting their work, before launching rocket barrages from Gaza.
Anonymous Sudan has claimed responsibility for the cyber attacks, which recently targeted dozens of Israeli websites. She confirmed – through her account on the Telegram application – that she had successfully completed all previous attacks, and initiated new attacks on Israel.
The Cypfer attacks from the group "anonymous Sudan" for more than a week, the electricity was cut off 5 days ago, the Iron Dome system was disabled during the rocket strike from Gaza, and the warning system on which the Iron Dome system relies is completely shut down.
And the attack is still ongoing. https://t.co/wQxlqMuvhg pic.twitter.com/EGnZkW9waB
— Kamal Ben Badi (@kamal_s_badi) May 2, 2023
Hack or technical bug?
According to Israeli media, Anonymous Sudan claimed that it "succeeded in penetrating the warning systems, disabling the smart applications that activate the sirens, as well as disabling and jamming the work of the Iron Dome system, which receives alerts and alarms when rocket fire is fired, which prevented it from intercepting all missiles."
In an effort to reassure the Israelis, the Israeli occupation army rushed to announce the opening of an investigation into the decline in the ability of the Iron Dome to intercept some of the rockets that were launched, on Tuesday, from the Gaza Strip and landed in the outskirts of the settlements of the "Gaza envelope" and some Israeli towns in the south.
The Israeli Air Force's initial investigation attributed the Iron Dome's reduced ability to intercept rockets after failing to intercept shells that landed in populated areas in the town of Sderot to a "technical error" that prevented those areas from being included in the targeted residential maps.
Amir Boukhbout, a military correspondent for the Hebrew Walla website, reported that the maps and data of the Iron Dome system have not been updated, including construction workshops within populated areas, while the Israeli Air Force investigation revealed gaps in the work of the Iron Dome without revealing the reasons for the gaps.
Large-scale attacks
The Israeli security establishment's secrecy on the reasons for the failure of the Iron Dome interception of Palestinian missiles and the refutation of the cyber attacks claimed by the Anonymous Sudan warning systems group have brought to the fore the cyber attacks and technological warfare that have recently raged in the space of dozens of Israeli websites, disrupting their work and putting them out of service.
Israeli websites belonging to universities, colleges, government and security institutions, infrastructure facilities and ports, as well as those belonging to the electricity and water companies, the intelligence service (Mossad), the National Insurance and the Knesset, were subjected to cyber attacks, causing them to be disrupted and stopped providing services, as these attacks were attributed to the hacker group "Anonymous Sudan".
The group has been active against Israeli targets since the beginning of 2023, as it escalated its cyber attacks last April by hacking and hacking dozens of vital, strategic and security Israeli websites.
Israel Suffers Organized Cyberattacks Every Year as Part of Operation Against Israel (Shutterstock)
Anonymous Sudan or a global group?
According to Israeli media, Anonymous Sudan operates from Sudan and Bangladesh, but the Israel Cyber Authority claimed that the group and its cyberattacks were linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
One Israeli intelligence assessment suggests that the base of the hacker group may be in Sudan, as its name suggests, but it does not rule out that it is supported by Iran and active from European, Arab and African countries.
According to this assessment, the group is part of a network of anonymous groups spread around the world, which engage in cyber activities and attacks on various countries, and focus their cyberattacks against Israel within an annual international anti-occupation campaign called "Against Israel" (#OpIsrael).
According to Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point, Anonymous Sudan, which works against Israeli targets, is part of an anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian ideological attack group.
One of the biggest challenges
Cyber attacks, which target vital and strategic facilities, infrastructure facilities and projects, and banking and security systems, pose the greatest challenges to Israel's national security, according to cybersecurity researcher Liran Entebbe.
Entebbe, who oversees Israel's Advanced Technologies and National Security program, revealed the escalation of cyberattacks and the intensification of cyberwarfare on Israel.
The researcher attributed – in her interview with Al Jazeera Net – the Israeli concern to the possibility that cyber attacks and threats to access all capabilities and vital facilities and leak information about the Israelis, disrupt services and cause paralysis in all aspects of life.
Israel believes that Israel should adapt the cyber deterrence system and develop the space sector to confront cyber attacks and hacker groups waging cyber war against Israeli space, as cyberattacks may be the biggest challenge for Israel in the event of a conventional war.
"Although the initial damage it causes seems limited, it is a wake-up call for the Israeli security establishment to demand the modernization and fortification of the Internet's defense systems, as well as the modernization of laser interception systems, and investing more in fortifying the home front," Entebbe said.
Soldiers stand near a battery of the Iron Dome missile defense system (French)
Recommendations for strengthening defense and attack
On April 2013, <>, hacker groups launched the first cyberattacks against Israeli websites, opening an ongoing cyber war against the occupation.
In the face of these cyberattacks, the Israel Cyber Authority recommended that the government and security services should strengthen the cyber defense systems of projects, critical infrastructure facilities, and security computing for various institutions, ministries and major civil companies to avoid losses in the economy and paralysis of public life.
The Cyber Authority believes that Israel should prepare to build an electronic army and an offensive force in addition to the defensive force, provided that this electronic army is the compass to monitor and thwart cyber attacks and reduce their repercussions on Israeli installations and institutions.