Cybersecurity threats against Israel surged by 24% in 2024, largely driven by Iranian-backed actors and proxy militias. However, the cyber war has not followed a linear trajectory. While attacks initially increased in frequency, they have since evolved in complexity, shifting towards more advanced tactics that pose a significant challenge to Israel’s defenses.
According to the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), cyberattack reports skyrocketed following the October 7, 2023, attacks.
The country’s national security operations center saw a tenfold increase in daily alerts, jumping from an average of 50 per day to over 500. Meanwhile, the number of advanced persistent threats (APTs) targeting Israel has doubled, demonstrating a rapid escalation in cyber hostilities.
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The first wave of attacks primarily focused on disruption—distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) strikes, psychological warfare campaigns, and defacements of digital signage. Hackers even managed to broadcast warning messages through public address systems in kindergartens and temporarily cripple point-of-sale services at gas stations and supermarkets.
Over time, Iranian-backed threat actors refined their approach. Businesses, particularly managed service providers (MSPs), became primary targets, with phishing emerging as the most frequently reported attack vector, accounting for 41% of cyber hotline reports in 2024.
Rather than relying on self-developed malware, attackers began leveraging legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools, making detection more difficult.
The exploitation of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, which once took days or weeks, now occurs within just 30 to 40 minutes.
One of the most critical targets remains the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and its supporting infrastructure. Cyberattacks have increasingly focused on companies involved in military logistics, emergency services, food supply chains, and even missile defense systems.
To counter these threats, INCD has mapped around 3,000 critical organizations and placed them under the protection of the “Cyber Dome,” a defensive framework utilizing artificial intelligence and big data analysis to fortify Israel’s cyber defenses—akin to the Iron Dome missile defense system.
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While Israel has managed to mitigate many of these threats, the psychological toll remains high. Continuous cyber incidents have exhausted organizations, forcing them to dedicate significant resources to countering attacks amid an ongoing war.
As Iran and its allies refine their tactics, Israel’s cyber battleground is set to remain a critical front in the broader geopolitical conflict.