Former prime minister Naftali Bennett confirmed on Wednesday night that his Telegram account was hacked, though he maintained his phone was not accessed.
An Iranian hacker group claimed on Wednesday to have accessed the phone of Bennett.
Bennett asserted that the photos shared by the group were faked.
The Handala group claimed it hacked the phone as part of ‘Operation Octopus.’
“You once prided yourself on being a leading light of cybersecurity and displayed your expertise to the world,” the group stated. “And even so, how ironic that your iPhone 13 fell so easily into the hands of Handala.”
“Despite all of your pride and boasting, your digital fortress is nothing more than a paper wall waiting to be broken.”
The former prime minister denied his phone had been accessed, Maariv reported.
Relevant authorities are investigating the attempt to penetrate Bennett's mobile phone, which, as a former prime minister, is defined as a secured individual by the Shin Bet's 730 Personal Security Unit.
According to a statement issued by Bennett, the mobile phone in question is not currently in use.
Iranian hacker group offers bounties for information on Israelis
The same group offered a $30,000 bounty earlier this week for information on Israeli engineers and technicians, listing their photos, names, credentials, email addresses, locations, and phone numbers.
Avi Ashkenazi contributed to this report.
Michael Starr contributed to this report.