False air raid sirens that were heard throughout two major Israeli cities may have been triggered by a cyberattack, the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) said.
On Sunday night, rocket sirens sounded for almost an hour in Eilat and across several Jerusalem neighborhoods including Talpiot, Katamon and Beit Hakerem, according to local media.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially said that there was a system malfunction, but the actual cause was not yet clear. The Israeli Army Radio, however, reported that the INCD suspects that a cyberattack was “behind a system malfunction.”
According to the INCD, the attack was aimed at the municipal siren systems rather than the IDF Home Front Command alert system, which is deemed to be more secure.
The agency did not specify who was behind the attack, but a former official said Iran may have been the culprit.
“Israel is preparing for Iranian attempts to harm the country through cyber warfare,” said former army Deputy Chief of Staff, Yair Golan.
In 2020, Iran launched a series of cyberattacks targeting Israeli water infrastructure, more specifically supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems at wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and sewage facilities in the country.