Israeli Govt Websites Down In Massive Cyberattack

Web Desk — A state of emergency was declared in Israel as major Israeli government websites went down in what appeared to be a strong cyberattack. 

According to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, the websites of the interior, health, justice, and welfare ministries and the prime minister’s office were hacked in the cyberattack.

Israel’s cyber protection agency said, “In the past few hours, a denial of service (DDoS) attack against a communications provider was identified. As a result, access to a number of websites, including Israeli government websites, was blocked for a short time.”

Israel often comes under cyberattack but the latest attempt to hack the Israeli government’s major websites was lethal. According to reports, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious hacking attempt that targets a server or network by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that checks were being carried out on strategic Israeli websites and government infrastructure, including Israel’s electric and water companies to see if they were also attacked.

A defense source told Haaretz that a state actor or large organization carried out the attack, but it could not yet determine who was behind it.