Israel said Iran was behind a cyberattack on a hospital in central Israel earlier this month that led to a leak of patient data, the National Cyber Directorate said, describing it as part of a broader wave of Iran-backed operations targeting Israeli institutions.
The attack took place on October 2, the Jewish Day of Atonement known as Yom Kippur, when much of the country was shut down for the holiday.
“Among the bodies that were attacked in the wave of Iranian attacks were Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), where the attackers tried to interfere with hospital operations, without success,” said Yosi Karadi, head of the directorate in a statement.
“In the case of Shamir Medical Center, beyond the data leak, the very attempt to damage an Israeli hospital means a red line has been crossed, which could have led to an attack on human life,” Karadi added.
The hospital is a government-run medical complex in Be’er Yaakov, southeast of Tel Aviv, and one of Israel’s largest, serving patients from across the central region.
Karadi said the incident was contained “quickly and efficiently” thanks to coordination among government agencies.
The directorate said the breach was part of a broader pattern of Iranian cyber activity aimed at Israeli government bodies and private companies. It said hackers used stolen usernames and passwords to gain access to systems.
The agency said there had been at least 10 such cyberattacks.
“Over the course of recent weeks, the National Cyber Directorate has identified a trend of a wave of cyberattacks against companies that offer computer services to many companies in the economy,” the statement added.
Israeli authorities had initially blamed a Russian-speaking hacker group called Qilin, which reportedly demanded a $700,000 ransom, before investigators said they traced the operation to Iranian sources.
Earlier this year, Israel’s deputy cyber defense chief said cyberattacks against the country had tripled since the country's war with Hamas began on October 7, 2023, with Iran and its allied groups, including Hezbollah, intensifying their hacking efforts.
Since the ceasefire between Iran and Israel in June that ended the 12-day war, nearly 450 cyberattacks have targeted Israeli institutions, many traced to hacker groups aligned with Iran, cybersecurity experts told Iran International in early July.
