According to Sky News Australia, a hacker group supporting Hamas and linked to the Iranian regime launched a major cyberattack against Israeli defense companies, obtaining and publishing online the technical blueprints of Australia’s new infantry fighting vehicles, worth $7 billion.
The report, published on Sunday, November 9, stated that the hacker group “Cyber Tornado,” believed to be connected to the Iranian regime, obtained and released 3D renderings and technical details of the next-generation “Redback” armored vehicles being developed for the Australian Army.
According to the report, these military vehicles are to be equipped with advanced weapon turrets produced by the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.
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The hacker group claimed in a statement that after infiltrating the security cameras of “Maya Technologies,” an Israeli defense supply-chain company, over a year ago, it accessed classified data from 17 Israeli defense firms.
According to Sky News, since October 22, the group has claimed it “penetrated the heart of Israel’s defense engineering operations” and began releasing classified details of 36 Israeli military projects on its Telegram channel.
Elbit’s turrets include advanced sensors and remote-controlled weapon systems designed by the Australian defense company EOS (Electro Optic Systems). They are armed with Elbit’s 30mm cannon and equipped with the “Iron Fist” active protection system.
Sky News Australia reported that the leaked data also revealed designs for a helmet-mounted display system developed by Elbit.
The system’s design and technology are similar to the displays used in Redback armored vehicles and the “Spike NLOS” anti-tank missile system that Australia is considering purchasing.
Sky News wrote that it remains unclear how much data was stolen and whether it could be used to develop countermeasures against Redback’s weapons or defense technologies.
The report also noted concerns that Israel’s advanced military capabilities could be reverse-engineered using the stolen data.
Under the contract, the Australian Army is to receive 127 Redback armored vehicles—tank-like infantry fighting vehicles—designed by South Korea’s Hanwha Defense, at a total value of about $7 billion.
Elbit’s turrets will be supplied under a separate contract worth approximately $920 million.
Claim of hacking Israel’s Rafael defense systems
The Cyber Tornado group also claimed that after its initial breach of Maya Technologies, it managed to hack into the systems of both Elbit and another Israeli defense giant, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
In the group’s statement, referring to what it called the hacking of Elbit’s and Rafael’s systems, phones, printers, routers, and cameras, it said: “We have recorded your meetings with audio and video for more than a year. This is just the beginning with Maya.”
Katherine Mansted, executive director of cyber intelligence at CyberCX, told Sky News Australia that Iranian regime-backed hacker infiltrations of Israeli companies—and subsequent harm to their Australian clients—had occurred before, adding that this incident highlights one of the “most complex and potentially existential threats” facing Australian organizations.
Mansted noted that Cyber Tornado is “a highly active anti-Israel hacking persona,” adding: “The group claims to have infiltrated at least 100 Israeli entities… and we strongly suspect that this group is, in fact, a proxy force of the Iranian government.”
Cyber Tornado emerged on October 27, 2023, only a few weeks after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism stated that the group’s activities—focused on infiltrating servers, databases, and leaking information—“strongly indicate state sponsorship, with evidence suggesting that Iran is most likely backing it.”
