85 Iranian cyberattacks linked to killing plots foiled in 2025, Israel says

Israel has thwarted 85 Iranian cyberattacks aiming to gather intelligence for top level assassinations in the country, according to the Shin Bet intelligence agency.

With the aim of infiltrating phones and computers to gather sensitive intelligence for the assassinations, phishing attempts targeted senior Israeli security officials, politicians, journalists and academics.

The attacks were carried out via fake Google Meet links, individually tailored to each target, the Shin Bet said.

There has been a marked rise in attacks in recent months, according to a statement from Shin Bet which said had aimed to gather information such as home addresses, personal relationships and routine locations.

The information would then be handed to operatives on the ground in Israel, as growing numbers of civilians are being recruited by Tehran in plots targeting the country's top political and military echelons, in addition to highly sensitive sites.

Oded Ailam, a former head of counter-terrorism at Mossad, wrote in Israel Hayom: "Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has discarded the slow, resource-heavy traditions of classical espionage: no more lengthy vetting, grueling training, or elaborate cover stories.”

"Instead, they’ve embraced a model that’s raw, direct, and disturbingly effective. Through aggressive mass campaigns on social media, thousands of Israelis are being approached."

He said that via messages like “Want to earn some easy cash?”, vulnerable communities are now being targeted by Iran to carry out work which until now, had been unheard of in the Jewish state.

But in the wake of the Gaza war, there have been dozens recruited, as Tehran infiltrates the digital landscape.

"This is Iran’s version of digital marketing applied to espionage: blanket targeting, no filters. And like any marketing effort, only a tiny fraction need to respond for the campaign to succeed.”

"To Tehran, even a one percent success rate from a thousand messages is worth it. It’s a chillingly rational approach: volume will eventually produce the quality they seek. And sadly, it works," Ailam said.

Israel Hayom quoted a Shin Bet official who said: "We are witnessing continued, relentless efforts by hostile actors as part of the campaign Iran is waging against Israel.

"The public must remain vigilant and cautious, these cyberattacks can be prevented through awareness, skepticism and proper online conduct, particularly by avoiding clicks on unidentified links."

Earlier this month, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said a spy plot against him had been thwarted in what Israel says is the 20th Iran-backed operation thwarted in the country since the Gaza war began.

Two Israeli suspects, Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 25 and childhood friends, were arrested at the end of April accused of intelligence-gathering missions and placing explosives in the community where Katz lives.

The case is the latest in a string of plots foiled since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, with dozens of Israelis allegedly hired by Iranian operatives to carry out operations targeting the country’s top political and military echelons.

Other targets have included the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar.