An Israeli cyber expert warned that Israel is too much vulnerable to a revenge cyber attack from Hezbollah if the group decides to carry out one in retaliation for last week’s pager blasts in Lebanon.
So far, Hezbollah has responded to Israel’s continuous attacks with massive rocket barrages to the north of Israel. However, the group is believed to have advanced cyber capabilities that could be used against Israel as a retaliation for last week’s pager blasts that Israel carried out in Lebanon.
“No country is immune to cyber attack, and Israel is no exception,” said Osher Assor, director of the Israeli cyber security consulting company Auren.
Although Israel closely monitors its supply chains and is able to ensure that every electrical product is fully investigated before entering its borders, Assur further asserted that Hezbollah is capable of carrying out a massive cyber attack against Israel, but either it has not yet taken the action or it has failed trying.
“Cyber attacks happen long before we really feel them. I would not be surprised if Hezbollah carries out such an attack in the coming days. Hezbollah is Iran’s proxy force and Iran has such capabilities as we have seen such efforts in recent days,” Assor also noted.
The Israeli cyber expert also noted that “Israel’s over-reliance on smartphones and online infrastructure leaves people and key systems too much vulnerable to such attacks”.
“Attack on these infrastructures is challenging but not impossible and it requires money, time and ability and expertise, all of which Hezbollah has at its disposal now,” he concluded.
Former Israeli commander: “Israel’s current strategy against Hezbollah will not bring back northern”
Besides the fear of an imminent cyber attack from Hezbollah, Israeli officials are also worried that their war strategy against the Lebanese group might fail altogether.
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, former commander of the Israel Air Defense Forces, Zvika Haymovich, said this Tuesday that he has serious doubts about Israel’s current military strategy against Hezbollah, noting that “recent Israeli attacks on Hezbollah are not in line with the government’s war goals to retake the north.”
“We have seen cyber and psychological operations on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the targeted killing of Ibrahim Aqeel on Friday. But the question is, are these tactical measures really part of the path to achieving the greater goal of returning the North? I believe that although Israel’s tactical operations were impressive, they were not enough to force Nasrallah into a ceasefire,” Haymovich noted.
He also discussed Israel’s broader military approach, arguing that more decisive action is needed to change the current situation.
“Israel has already broken some of the old patterns with its aggressive actions, such as the attacks in Dahiya [Hezbollah’s hub in Beirut]. But now we have to ask, how should we continue this good process? I think the better strategy is for Israel to take control of southern Lebanon using more force than ever before,” he said.
