The Anonymous hacking group has claimed to have breached Israel’s military, stealing some of its “top secret” documents. This comes two weeks after Israel’s Justice Ministry acknowledged a cybersecurity breach that may have stolen hundreds of gigabytes of data. In a video released on April 18, Anonymous stated that after hacking the justice ministry, they wanted to introduce the IDF to the world.
The cyber dimension of the conflict in Gaza has received limited coverage due to the nature of the fighting on the ground. However, the recent escalation has seen Iran stepping out from behind its proxies, leading to increased cyber activity by both Iran and Israel. Israel’s offensive cyber capabilities are much greater than Iran’s, but Iran is steadily enhancing its skills. This has led to the possibility of a digital escalation as the ballistic engagement quiets down.
Anonymous is not a globally organized group with a specific structure, but rather an umbrella agenda with members initiating and coordinating activities. The latest claims of breaching Israel’s military seem to come from a pro-Palestinian group calling itself Anonymous for Justice. Israeli security assessments suggest that the likelihood of an actual breach is minimal, as the IDF’s computer system is tightly secured. The breach, if there was one, may have come from civilian computers.
The alleged breached data includes the identity of generals, military bases, contracts, and top-secret projects, totaling 20GB of data across over 230,000 files. The video also mentions that the hacking operation was assisted by “freedom seekers” within the IDF. Israel’s government is on high cyber alert, warning of increased activities post-Ramadan, especially after recent clashes with Iran. The region is already experiencing significant cyber activity, and decisions on escalation will be critical.
The actual content of the leaked data remains to be seen, and its significance will only be clear if highly sensitive information from secure military systems is made public. The screenshots in the video cannot be verified, and their level of protective marking is unclear. The focus in the coming weeks will be on any signs of offensive cyber campaigns becoming public, and whether any are acknowledged by either side. The IDF has been approached for comments on the alleged hack, but their response is yet to be obtained.
