Fake emergency texts received by Israelis raise concerns of a possible Iranian cyberattack

Israelis across the country received text messages under the title of “emergency alert” late on Wednesday night, which called on them to leave where they were and find a protected area, Israeli media reported shortly after the incident.

The National Cyber Directorate later confirmed that Hezbollah and Iran were behind the texts.

“The announcement was not distributed on our behalf. There is no change in the defense policy of Home Front Command,” the IDF noted.

אלפי ישראלים קיבלו "התרעת חירום" הקוראת להיכנס למרחבים מוגנים. נבדקת האפשרות שמדובר בהודעה שמאחוריה עומדים גורמים איראנים. בצה"ל הבהירו: "ההודעה לא הופצה מטעמנו, אין שינוי במדיניות התגוננות פיקוד העורף"@Itsik_zuarets @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/J27TsWTbXa

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 18, 2024

In the screenshot of the message, the sender appears to be named “OREFAlert,” similar to the Home Front Command name in Hebrew – Pikud HaOref.

The text message received by Israelis contained a link, and above it, in misspelled words, it was written, “You must enter a protected area.”

According to Walla Technology, this was an attempt to create panic among the public and is a tactic of psychological warfare.

A counterattack of cyberattacks?

The message sent late Wednesday night follows a double round of attacks on Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, which took place on both Tuesday and Wednesday and involved the explosion of pagers throughout the country.

Lebanese media reported that at least 500 people were wounded on Wednesday by the explosion, and 20 people were killed, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Hezbollah has accused Israel of being the saboteur, with Jerusalem staying publicly silent on the issue, but with several foreign media outlets reporting that the Mossad and IDF intelligence were behind it, and with The Jerusalem Post independently confirming significant aspects of the saga.

Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.