Head of Hamat Group Cybersecurity Charged with Widespread Hacking

The State Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Michael Bar, a resident of Ashkelon and the head of information security for the Hamat Group, who was arrested three weeks ago. Bar is accused of introducing malware into the computer systems of 26 companies, two kibbutzim, and private individuals. He allegedly sent thousands of remote commands and collected passwords, correspondence, confidential business information, and recordings from cameras and microphones.

According to the indictment, after realizing his cyberattack had been discovered, Bar used artificial intelligence to develop a more sophisticated malicious program to continue stealing sensitive business and personal data. The 43-year-old is alleged to have systematically created, distributed, and deployed malware as a tool for cyberattacks from 2019 until his arrest last month.

On April 30, Bar, in his capacity as head of security for the Hamat Group, was approached by investigators from the National Cyber Directorate, who were probing a large-scale attack on Israeli companies and suspected the Hamat Group was also a victim. He was informed of the incident's details and given a tool to search for malware within the company's systems. Bar continued to communicate with the investigators for about two more weeks, during which time he developed and deployed a new, more advanced program into the infrastructure of other companies.

The prosecution estimates the damage to the companies amounts to approximately 1.5 million shekels. The indictment also details a severe invasion of privacy over several years, involving the use of computer cameras and microphones in homes, bedrooms, and even hotel rooms, without the knowledge of those being remotely monitored.