Defense Ministry announces thwarting of cyberattack on security contractors

The Defense Ministry announces the thwarting of a cyberattack on Israeli security and military contractors.

A ministry statement says a group called Lazarus, “an organization that is backed by a foreign country,” was behind the attack. It doesn’t specify to which country it was linked, but reports have said the group has ties to North Korea.

“Members of the group used various hacking techniques, including ‘social engineering’ and impersonation. They built fake profiles on Linkedin, a social network that is used primarily for job searches in the high-tech sector,” the statement says.

The Defense Ministry doesn’t say which firms were targeted.

“The cyberattacks were identified in real time, and thwarted by the Tech Unit under the Director of Security for Defense Establishment, in the Defense Ministry as well as the cyber defense systems employed by the defense industries. No harm or disruption was made to their networks,” it says.

NEWS: Since early 2020, the cyber attack unit of North Korean intelligence- known as Lazarus – has mounted a massive campaign to deeply penetrate the classified computer systems of Israel’s military and security industries, trying to steal data. Israeli officials are concerned

— Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman) August 12, 2020