Nitzan Amar, Israel’s Deputy Cyber Defense Chief, announced that since Hamas’s October 7 attack, cyberattacks by the Iranian regime and Hezbollah against Israel have tripled.
On Wednesday, March 26, at the “Cybertech 2025” conference in Tel Aviv, Amar stated that last year was not an ordinary year; it was a challenging and unique one. He added that since the beginning of the war, Israel has seen a significant increase in the scale of Iran and Hezbollah’s malicious activities against Israeli institutions.
He reported a 300% increase in phishing attacks against Israel during this period, adding that these actions aim to exploit information, target Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and disrupt the daily lives of Israeli citizens.
Cyberattacks by the Iranian Regime on Critical Infrastructure in the U.S. and Israel
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Since then, regional tensions have escalated dramatically.
In its October 2024 annual report, Microsoft stated that since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has become the primary target of Iranian cyberattacks, whereas Tehran had previously focused mainly on the United States.
In November 2024, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that an Iranian regime-affiliated hacker group had exposed the identity of an Israeli nuclear scientist and several of his colleagues.
The Israeli Deputy Cyber Defense Chief further stated at the “Cybertech 2025” conference that despite the “unprecedented” increase in cyberattacks against Israel, these efforts have been unsuccessful.
Amar said that despite their adversaries’ efforts since October 7, none of the cyberattacks against Israeli institutions have managed to damage national infrastructure or disrupt the operational freedom of the Israeli military in carrying out its missions.
He also announced the implementation of Israel’s “Cyber Dome” defense program, adding that Israel has employed advanced defensive technologies that have played a vital role in mitigating and countering these threats.
