Cyber Attacks Surge 82% Against Israeli Government Ahead of Elections

The government sector has been particularly hard-hit, experiencing an 82% surge in attacks to an average of 2,300 weekly attempts. The energy and infrastructure sectors saw the sharpest rise, with a 107% increase reaching approximately 3,900 weekly attempts. Check Point identified 87 successful cyber incidents since early October, which mostly resulted in temporary website outages or defacement.

Researchers identified over 1,200 new election-related websites registered in September and October, with one in every 47 classified as malicious or suspicious. These include phishing sites disguised as official voter information services designed to steal personal details like ID numbers and addresses. Additionally, dark web discussions about the Israeli elections by attack groups rose 110% in October, with plans underway to launch denial-of-service attacks to disable key government and political party websites on election day.

Anti-Israeli attack groups, including Iranian entities and pro-Arab hacktivists, have intensified the leaking of sensitive information. This includes correspondence from public officials, documents from the IDF, and the recirculation of leaked voter databases from 2020 as well as police and soldier data from last year. To counter these threats, police have dismantled a network of suspicious social media accounts attempting to influence the Israeli public, and experts urge citizens to verify information solely through official election channels.