Iran‑linked hackers have stepped up their operations in the region since the war began, expert says

A man carrying a rifle exits an underground parking used as a bomb shelter after an alert in Tel Aviv. As well as incoming fire, Israel has also urged the public to be vigilant about cyberattacks. Photo / Olympia de Maismont, AFP

Israel’s cybersecurity directorate said it had identified “dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes” since the start of the war in the Middle East, urging the public to be vigilant.

“The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal,” Cyber Israel wrote on X.

Cyberattacks between Iran and Israel have been a frequent occurrence in recent years, as the two foes conducted a shadow war that culminated in open conflict last June and again on February 28.

In December 2025, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett - who is set to run against incumbent leader Benjamin Netanyahu in a general election this year - said he had been the victim of a cyberattack targeting his Telegram account, after hackers claimed to have broken into his phone.

Private messages, videos and photographs said to be taken from Bennett’s phone were published on a hacker site named after “Handala”, a character symbolising the Palestinian cause, and on an associated X account.

Iran‑linked hackers have stepped up their operations in the region since strikes began on the country, an expert told AFP.

Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point said in a report that since the United States-Israeli attack on Iran, it has seen hackers accessing surveillance cameras, which are widely used but often poorly secured.

The images were likely used to assess damage caused by the attacks or “to gather the necessary information” on “the habits [of targeted individuals] or locations to hit”, Gil Messing, head of cyber intelligence at Check Point, told AFP.

The hackers “are part of [Iran’s] army” and “are largely supported by the state”, notably by the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, he added.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Israel had hacked nearly all of Tehran’s traffic cameras for years in preparation for the operation that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the offensive.

-Agence France-Presse