Israeli Security Agencies Warn of Rising Iranian Attempts to Recruit Israeli Journalists via Phishing

The Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) and the National Cyber Directorate issued a joint warning on Sunday about a surge in Iranian intelligence efforts to recruit Israeli journalists and media personnel. These attempts involve targeted phishing attacks conducted through WhatsApp and Telegram, where operatives impersonate well-known journalists to propose collaborations and interviews. The goal is to establish seemingly trustworthy contact, leading victims to click on malicious links that direct them to fake login pages designed to steal personal account credentials or install malware capable of taking control of mobile devices.

Israeli authorities assess that Iran aims to gather sensitive information by accessing journalistic sources, work materials, correspondence, and other data that could be exploited for terrorism, espionage, and intelligence collection. The warning emphasized that similar tactics are being used against targets in other sectors, urging heightened vigilance among individuals involved in political, public, governmental, and security activities.

The National Cyber Directorate recommended several protective measures, including verifying the identity of contacts through alternative communication channels, avoiding entering passwords or verification codes via suspicious links, enabling two-factor authentication on key accounts, regularly reviewing account access logs, and promptly reporting suspicious attempts to organizational security teams and the Cyber Directorate’s hotline.

This alert follows the indictment filed about ten days ago against Israeli citizen Termilan Amushkov and Ukrainian citizen Alina Kushnirko, both residents of Ashkelon, for collaborating with Iranian agents and carrying out security-related tasks under their direction. Investigations revealed that Amushkov maintained contact with an Iranian foreign agent, performing various assignments in exchange for cryptocurrency payments, some of which were conducted jointly with Kushnirko. Among the tasks, Amushkov was instructed to acquire a new mobile phone with higher resolution capabilities to capture quality images of sensitive locations such as the Eilat port, a museum, and the Mount Herzl cemetery.