Tel Aviv, September 20 (RHC)-- Pro-Palestinian hackers have knocked offline the Israeli railroad network, according to a report, less than a week after Iranian hackers reportedly breached the networks of more than 30 companies based in the Israeli-occupied territories.

According to Israeli media outlets, the Cyber Avengers hacker group has revealed information showing that it had targeted the electrical infrastructure of the network.  Last Monday, the Israeli Ynet news website, citing information security company ESET, announced that Iranian hackers had managed to penetrate the networks of about 32 Israeli companies.

The Iranian hackers also purportedly broke into a company in Brazil and another in the United Arab Emirates, ESET said.   The names of the companies were not disclosed, but according to the report they operate in diverse fields, including insurance, medicine, industry, communications, IT, technology, retail, automobile, law, financial services, architecture, and civil engineering.

A group of Sudanese hackers target the website of the Israeli Mossad spy agency, the so-called National Insurance Institute and several other Israeli companies in a major cyber attack.  Ynet said the hacking group identified itself as Ballistic Bobcat, which is also known by other names, including Charming Kitten, TA543, or PHOSPHORUS as well as APT35/42. It said at least 16 other companies were affected by secondary attackers.

The Israeli regime has targeted Iran on many occasions either directly or by instigating and providing support for the actual perpetrators.  In 2012, The Washington Post reported that the United States National Security Agency (NSA), its spy service CIA, and Israel’s military had worked together to launch malware, named Stuxnet, against Iran’s nuclear facilities.  In retaliation, Iranian hacking groups purportedly operate against targets in Israel.

In late 2020, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz claimed a group of elite hackers it introduced as Iranians had advanced as far as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and the regime’s major aerospace company.