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A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Photo: Reuters / Kacper Pempel / Illustration.
A massive cyber-attack on Israel’s defense industry was successfully thwarted, it was reported on Wednesday.
The government cleared for publication that the attack was perpetrated by an international group of hackers known as “Lazarus,” which infiltrated the social network LinkedIn using fake profiles.
Cleared for Publication: The Directorate of Security for the Defense Establishment in cooperation with additional security institutions, has thwarted a cyber-attack targeting Israel’s leading defense industries. Attackers used LinkedIn profiles in attempt to infiltrate networks pic.twitter.com/PT0IzK4T4V
— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) August 12, 2020
The hackers then impersonated high-level employees of large international companies and approached their supposed “counterparts” in the Israeli defense industry, offering them jobs.
When the Israeli employees responded, the hackers attempted to attack their computers and penetrate their companies’ networks.
These efforts were detected and stymied in real time by the Director of Security of the Defense Establishment at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and no damage was done.
The hackers were said to be backed by a “foreign country.”
Although the country was unnamed, Iran has attempted several major cyber-attacks against Israel in recent months, including a potentially-devastating attack on Israel’s water infrastructure.
In all cases, the attacks were prevented.