Israel’s security firms and agencies are reportedly preparing for a potential Iranian or Iran-linked cyberattack in response to an attack blamed on the Jewish state that was said to have crippled computer systems at a strategic port in the south of the Islamic Republic.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Israel brought down the Shahid Rajaee port’s computer systems, causing a total shutdown of the facility, on May 9.
Israel has refused to officially comment on the report, which cited US and other foreign officials saying Israel was likely behind the computer attack.
The attack was apparently in response to an alleged Iranian attempt to hack into Israel’s water infrastructure system. Israel’s high-level security cabinet held a secret meeting to discuss a response to the hack attack on May 7, according to Channel 13 news, and regarded the attempt to damage its water system, a non-military target, as crossing a red line.
Security officials on Tuesday instructed agencies and sensitive facilities to raise their awareness and preparedness for the option of a retaliatory cyberattack as part of an apparent new tit-for-tat war, Hebrew-language media reported.
Cyber-defense officials in the Israel Defense Forces and the National Cyber Directorate have raised their alertness, expecting an attack on websites, servers or services, the unsourced reports said.
Employees have been ordered not to open or download files from unknown sources or people whose credibility is questionable. Officials have stressed that malicious messages could be ostensibly about the coronavirus crisis.
Workers have also been told not to hand personal information or account details to unknown entities, and to only download mobile applications from known app stores.
Shahid Rajaee Port, in the southern Hormozgan Province, is located some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the city of Bandar Abbas, and is by far Iran’s largest and most strategically important port. It is also known as the port of Bandar Abbas.
It accounts for some 60 percent of all the country’s port activity, Mohammad Saeednejad, the managing director of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said in 2017.
“The significance of the port lies in the fact that it is located at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz where nearly 50,000 vessels of different countries sail annually,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency at the time.
Saeednejad added that between March 2016 and March 2017, exports from the port totaled some 44 million tons of goods worth more than $11.14 billion, and imports totaled nearly 10 million tons worth $18.65 billion.
Israel has long accused Iran of using the port for military purposes to aid terrorists elsewhere in the Middle East, including the Jewish state’s foes Hamas and Hezbollah, with the IDF intercepting some of the shipments.
Satellite images of the port on May 11 and May 12 taken by Planet Labs and seen by The Times of Israel showed a large number of ships idling off the port and a buildup of containers on dry land, days after the alleged Israeli cyberattack.
Army chief Aviv Kohavi on Tuesday hinted at Israel’s role in the cyberattack, saying the IDF would continue to use “various military tools” against the country’s enemies.
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