Defense officials say hundreds of Iranian cyberattacks foiled in past months

Hundreds of Iranian cyberattacks targeting Israelis — including senior government and defense officials, academics, and journalists — were detected and foiled in recent months, the Shin Bet security agency and National Cyber Directorate said Wednesday.

According to a joint statement, there has been a noted rise in attempts by Iranian intelligence agents to hack the private Google accounts of Israelis since June 2025’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic.

“The purpose of these attempts is to collect personal and professional information that could be used to advance terrorist activity, espionage, and influence operations in the form of ‘targeted phishing,’” the Shin Bet and Cyber Directorate said.

They added that the method includes “personalized approaches tailored to the target’s fields of interest,” as well as impersonations of people known to the target and messages soliciting passwords and verification codes for users’ Google, Telegram, or WhatsApp accounts in the guise of security checks.

The Shin Bet and Cyber Directorate said that in recent months, they have managed to foil hundreds of such attacks.

In their statement, the security agencies recommended that Israelis boost their cybersecurity measures, including by enabling two-step verification, providing recovery emails, and checking linked accounts.

Users should be extra careful when ostensibly hearing from someone for the first time, and should avoid providing personal information or clicking on links in such cases, they said.

The agencies added that Google and WhatsApp have recently released enhanced security features for prominent people or people who hold sensitive information.

In January, cyber defense chief Yossi Karadi warned that Israel needs to bolster its preparedness for what he described as a fast-approaching “cyber war.”

He disclosed that in 2025 alone, the Cyber Directorate handled more than 26,000 cyberattacks, a 55 percent increase over 2024. Israel ranks as the third most attacked country in the world, according to Microsoft’s latest data, with 3.5% of all global cyberattacks directed at the country over the past year.

The announcement Wednesday came with tensions high in the region, as the United States and Iran were engaging in negotiations in the shadow of American threats to strike the Islamic Republic.

Amid the tensions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington on Wednesday to meet with US President Donald Trump.

Sharon Wrobel contributed to this report.