The latest saga of digital warfare has triggered a cycle of cyber battles between the alleged “Saudi hacker” and Israeli hackers.
The Jerusalem Post’s police and national security correspondent, Yaakov Lappin, maintains that it is highly likely that both the “Saudi hacker” and the Israeli hackers will up there game. The Israeli hackers, which until now have done little more than flood websites with fake requests, told Lappin of their plans to cause “long-term damage” to important financial Saudi websites as well as other websites in the Gulf region.
The “Saudi hacker” has likewise promised to continue with the cyber attacks but has also called upon other hackers in the Arab world to assist him in harming Israel from the digital battlefield. The hacker, who goes by the pseudonym of “0xOmar,” told Lappin that his aim is to avenge the “genocide” of Palestinians by Israel. On Tuesday Hamas announced its support of “0xOmar,” calling his efforts “a new kind of resistance,” and urged other Arab hackers to join him.
The most crucial websites for running Israeli infrastructure and government web portals fall under the jurisdiction of the Cyber Defense Authority, an agency that was established this month to protect websites from hackers and other threats.
However, the private sector does not fall under the CDA, so private web hosting sites, like those used for credit card companies or the stock exchange, are not regulated for protection.