Hackers (unsuccessfully!) targeted world leaders’ planes landing in Israel last week
While Israel was hosting dozens of international leaders who flew in from around the world for a Holocaust remembrance forum, hackers were trying to attack their planes as they landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
It is a testament to Israel’s cyber defense system that it successfully warded off nearly 1,000 attacks were aimed at heads of state including presidents, prime ministers and monarchs. At least 800 cyberattacks targeted Israel’s aviation authority in one day, according to Israeli media.
The attacks, which originated in Iran, China, North Korea, Russia, and Poland, “were directed at the airport and the planes … and were aimed at disrupting the flight paths of more than 60 planes carrying heads of state, kings and presidents.”
A successful attack would have touched off a global crisis which is probably what the hackers were aiming for — making the Jewish state responsible in the event of a world leader’s assassination on Israeli soil.
Israel, however, was prepared for both cyber and terror attacks as part of its preparation for the event. The gathering went off without a hitch despite three days of intense and wide ranging visits by these world leaders in Jerusalem.
(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Comments