The Defense Ministry stated on Wednesday that it foiled an attempted cyberattack on Israel’s top defense industry officials by hackers linked to North Korea.

The hackers, who were part of an international hacker syndicate known as “Lazarus” utilized fake job offers to try to access databases of Israel’s defense industries.

“The Directorate of Security for the Defense Establishment in cooperation with additional security institutions has thwarted a cyber-attack targeting Israel’s leading defense industries,” the Defense Ministry stated. “Attackers used LinkedIn profiles in an attempt to infiltrate networks.”

“Members of the group used various hacking techniques, including ‘social engineering’ and impersonation. They built fake profiles on Linkedin, a social network that is used primarily for job searches in the high-tech sector.”

“The attackers impersonated managers, CEOs and leading officials in HR departments, as well as representatives of international companies, and contacted employees of leading defense industries in Israel, with the aim of developing discussions and tempting them with various job opportunities.

“In the process of sending the job offers, the attackers attempted to compromise the computers of these employees, to infiltrate their networks and gather sensitive security information. The attackers also attempted to use the official websites of several companies in order to hack their systems.”

“The cyber-attacks were identified in real-time, and thwarted by the Tech Unit under the Director of Security for Defense Establishment, in the Ministry of Defense as well as the cyber defense systems employed by the defense industries. No harm or disruption was made to their networks. The Directorate of Security has launched an investigation and operational activity together with the defense industries and other security bodies, following this attempted breach.”

NEWS: Since early 2020, the cyber attack unit of North Korean intelligence- known as Lazarus – has mounted a massive campaign to deeply penetrate the classified computer systems of Israel’s military and security industries, trying to steal data. Israeli officials are concerned

— Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman) August 12, 2020

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)