Israeli website Jerusalem post was the target of another infiltration by unknown hackers on Monday. Seemingly affiliated with Iran, the hackers threatened Israeli with a picture of missile coming out of a ring.
After being an attack by unknown hackers, the Israeli Jerusalem Post went down for some hours yesterday. The website and its entire products remained out of access during this time. Website viewers saw a visual of a skyscraper bursting and a rocket descending from the sky.
The rocket in the picture seemed to emerge from a red ring on a clinched fist. The picture came with two lines, on in English and the other in Arabic. The English line read “We are close to you where you do not think about it.”
The first response by the journal came in twitter where it explained about the team’s knowledge about the hack. JP also explained that “We are working to resolve the issue and thank readers for your patience and understanding.”
The journal’s website was eventually restored a couple of hours later. The incident was not unprecedented. The same website was the target of another attack in 2020 by sources with apparent affiliations with Iran.
The new wave of attack against Israeli targets occur while Tehran and Tel Aviv have had verbal conflict in recent months. Iran recently held military exercises in south-western borders, the closest positions to Israel. Iranian commanders openly referred to Israel as the main target of drills.
The recent hack also occurred on the second anniversary of the assassination of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Early in 2020, under the direct order by US president, an American drone targeted the chief of IRGC Quds force. Iranians find Israel also responsible due to security and intelligence cooperation in the assassination operation.
Jerusalem Post Hack; Part of Iranian Revenge?
Although no group, party, or state claimed the Monday attack against the Jerusalem post, Israel seems to be behind the scene. Just like Israeli attacks against Iranian positions in recent years, Iran’s operation also left targeted traces with clarifies its involvement.
The photo on the hacked website depicted a copy of the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Israeli city of Dimona. The plant is a component of Israeli nuclear network for producing plutonium for its nuclear arsenal.
Tehran recently tested a series of missiles threatening Israel with direct and harsh response in case of any adventures. Iran mentioned the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona as the main target of its missiles. Footages of Iranian drills showed the replica of Negev Nuclear plant exploding by Iranian missiles.
Besides, the cyber-attack occurred exactly on the same day that Iranian General Soleimani was killed by the US. Jerusalem post explained in a website post that “the website was hacked at about 2 a.m. Monday morning (Israel time),” somewhere around the time of assassination of Soleimani by American drones. The website also acknowledged the involvement of pro-Iranian hackers in the project.
A take of photo by observers is that the fist in the picture belongs to Soleimani and the might Iranians believe he still inspires them with. This explanation further reinforces Iranian’s role in hacking the website.
Finally, Jerusalem Post hack could be a part of Iranian revenge vow for the assassination of Soleimani. Iran recurrently reiterated its will to fulfill the vow in recent month. Tehran did in the first step of revenge by targeting American Al Asad Airbase in Iraq five days later. The attack against Jerusalem post on January 3 show that the thirst for revenge is still ablaze.
