Over the last year and a half, the Middle East has witnessed a significant rise in cyberattacks, especially those posing a serious threat to organizations across the region.

Fedor Chunizhekov, Information Security Analyst at Positive Technologies, who compiled the list, explained, “The threat to the Middle East is very much real. Rapid advancement in technology and the growing independence on the internet means that attackers have novel and innovative ways to exploit vulnerabilities”.

Let’s check out some of the region’s worst attacks in the last 18 months:

Adalat Ali

In early 2022, Iranian hacktivists Adalat Ali successfully broadcast a 50-second message on streaming service Telewebion calling for further protests against the ruling Khamenei regime.

Bezeq And Cellcom DDoS Attack

In March 2022, a state of emergency was declared after a prolonged DDoS attack leading to Israeli government agencies, including the Ministry of Health, Internal Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office, and several major media outlets losing access to various services.

Public Address Systems In Palestine

In June 2022, public address systems in Jerusalem and Eilat were compromised by unnamed hackers, leading to false air raid sirens being broadcast for an hour.

Iranian Steel Plants Attack

Again in June 2022, an attack on three Iranian steel plants by hacktivist group Goneshke Darande disrupted processes leading to a liquid pig spillage resulting in a fire that halted production.

GamkenBot Scalper Bots

Attackers created bots that found and booked all available appointments using the Israeli booking service GamkenBot, before monetizing them and generally disrupting the service.

Cellebrite Data Breach

Israeli digital data firm Cellebrite was hacked to the tune of 1.7 TB of files in a massive data breach. The files contained all manner of proprietary backup software and other important information. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iranian News Agency Attack

A group of hacktivists known as Black Reward Team stole around 250 TB of confidential information from Iran’s state-run Fars News in November 2022. The group also gained access to CCTV footage.

Vice Society Attack On IKEA

Ransomware group Vice Society targeted IKEA in Morocco and Kuwait in November 2022. The outlets experienced a data breach that was thought to have been facilitated through phishing emails.

Pro-Palestine Attacks On Israeli Companies

In January, the hacktivist group Electronic Quds Force launched a campaign targeting Israeli chemical production companies. Messages sent to employees told them to “Leave employment and look for a new one”. The hackers also uploaded screenshots of automated control system interfaces on their Telegram channel, proving the plant was compromised.

Irrigation System Disruption

Farm irrigation systems and wastewater treatment in the Jordan Valley were targeted by what appears to have been OpIsrael, an anti-Israel hacktivist team. The attack was successful due to weak authentication and vulnerabilities in programmable controllers, allowing the attackers to gain remote access.

In light of such a severe spate of attacks, Positive Technologies urges companies to adopt the latest technologies and security techniques to safeguard data and networks against increasingly sophisticated hacking.