'Cyber attack' hits Knesset - 18 MKs hacked

Hacking perpetrated by 'Anonymous, not Silvanonymous,' presidential candidate's office says, ruling out political rivals as culprits.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Anonymous Yemen” posted the email addresses and encrypted passwords of 18 MKs on Facebook Monday night.
The MKs who had their details exposed included Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Labor), as well as Arabs MKs such as Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta’al) and Muhammad Barakei (Hadash), haredi MKs such as Moshe Gafni (UTJ) and Amnon Cohen (Shas), left-wingers like MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor), and rightists like MK Gila Gamliel (Likud Beytenu). The Knesset email addresses of several ministers, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, appeared on the list as well.
The list also included email addresses from the Prime Minister’s Office, Defense Ministry, National Security Council and other government offices.
The group of hackers displayed a total lack of knowledge as to whom they were targeting, as they also posted emails and passwords for long-retired MKs like Eli Aflalo, a no-longer-in-use Knesset email address for President Shimon Peres, and one for former Kadima MK Marina Solodkin, who died away over a year ago.
Presidential candidate and Likud Beytenu MK Reuven Rivlin was also among those whose Knesset emails were hacked Monday night.
Knesset security told Rivlin’s office that the hacking was a “cyber attack by anti-Israel factors” who had publicized his password online.
Rivlin's office denied that he may have been hacked by a political rival. A source close to the MK said the attack was "Anonymous, not Silvanonymous," a reference to the hacktivist group and Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom, who is considering a presidential run and is being investigated for sexual harassment.
On Monday, Anonymous said Israel "will be dealt with swiftly and without warning," which proved to be not only self-contradicting but an overstatement, as the anti-Israel group managed to inflict only temporary delays and minor inconveniences.
The Internet onslaught produced only minor slowdowns on dozens of official sites, such as the Israel postal service and Education Ministry websites, which went down briefly.
Niv Elis contributed to this report.