By Sabiu Abdullahi
Israel’s cybersecurity directorate has reported “dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes” since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, urging the public to remain alert.
“The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal,” Cyber Israel wrote on X on Monday.
Cyberattacks have been a recurring feature of the tense relationship between Iran and Israel, with both sides engaging in a shadow war that escalated into open conflict last June and again on February 28.
In December 2025, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett — who plans to challenge incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu in this year’s general election — reported a cyberattack on his Telegram account, claiming hackers had accessed his phone.
Private messages, videos, and photographs allegedly taken from Bennett’s phone were later posted on a hacker site named after “Handala,” a character symbolizing the Palestinian cause, and on a related X account.
AFP quoted a cybersecurity expert noting that Iran-linked hackers intensified their activities in the region following attacks on the country.
Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point highlighted in a report that since the start of the US-Israeli offensive on February 28, hackers have frequently accessed surveillance cameras, which are widely deployed but often poorly secured.
The images were reportedly used to evaluate damage from attacks and to “gather the necessary information” on “the habits (of targeted individuals) or locations to hit,” Gil Messing, head of cyberintelligence at Check Point, told AFP.
Messing added that the hackers “are part of (Iran’s) army” and “are largely supported by the state,” particularly by the Revolutionary Guards and the ministry of intelligence and security.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Israel had monitored nearly all of Tehran’s traffic cameras for years in preparation for the operation that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the offensive.
