Israeli media reported this week that the Shin Bet internal security service warned Benny Gantz that Iranian cyber spies hacked his cellphone exposing his personal data.

Iranian hackers targeted the campaign of the former Israeli military chief Benny Gantz who is a leading challenger to Prime Minister Netanyahu in next elections.

According to the Israeli intelligence, the cyber spies hacked the

Gantz’s mobile device putting “his personal details and addresses in hostile hands.”

“The cellphone of Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest rival and the chair of the political alliance Kahol Lavan, was hacked by Iranian intelligence, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Thursday evening.” reported the Haaretz website.

According to Gantz’s staff, the hackers aimed at damaging his political campaign by leaking the stolen data just weeks before Israel’s April 9 elections “raises important questions.”

“We don’t comment on issues that are at the heart of state security. It is important to emphasize that this incident happened four years after Gantz finished his tenure as chief of staff, [a fact] that raises many questions regarding the timing of the report’s publication.” reads an official statement released by Gantz’s Kahol Lavan party.

A campaign official speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that threat actors hacked the Gantz’s device several months ago.

Benny Gantz attends a campaign convention March 11, 2019. Israel says Iran has hacked his phone.AFP (Source Haaretz)

According to the report by journalist Amit Segal, two officials from Israel’s Shin Bet security service warned Gantz five weeks ago, during the election campaign. The Shin Bet officials told Benny Gantz that hackers breached his private cellphone. The hack has happened during the election campaign and the Israeli intelligence blamed Iranians cyberspies.

Early March, security experts at Microsoft warned of economic damages caused by the activity of Iran-linked hacking groups that are working to penetrate systems, businesses, and governments worldwide.

According to Microsoft, the attackers already caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages by stealing secret data and wiping information from computer networks of 200 companies over the past two years.

Pierluigi Paganini