NEWS DESK (MNN); Israel’s National Cyber Directorate has revealed that Iranian hackers have breached dozens of security cameras across the country for espionage purposes since the outbreak of the latest conflict in the Middle East.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, the Israeli cybersecurity authority said it had detected multiple attempts by Iranian actors to access privately owned surveillance cameras to gather intelligence.
The directorate warned that such intrusions could pose both national and personal security risks and urged citizens to take immediate precautionary measures.
“The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal,” the agency said.
Cyber confrontations between Iran and Israel have intensified in recent years as the two rivals engaged in an ongoing shadow cyber war that occasionally escalated into open hostilities.
That confrontation turned into direct military conflict in June last year and again on February 28 when tensions sharply escalated in the region.
Experts say cyber operations have become a key tool used by both sides to gather intelligence and disrupt infrastructure.
Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point said in a recent report that hackers have increasingly targeted surveillance systems since the launch of the joint United States–Israel offensive against Iran on February 28.
According to the report, many surveillance cameras are widely deployed but lack adequate security protections, making them vulnerable to hacking attempts.
Gil Messing, head of cyber intelligence at Check Point, said the images obtained from hacked cameras may have been used to assess the damage caused by military strikes or to collect information about specific locations and individuals.
He explained that such data could help attackers identify strategic targets or monitor the movements and habits of individuals.
Messing further claimed that many of the cyber attackers are believed to be linked to Iran’s military apparatus and are supported by state institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence.
Cyber operations have also affected prominent political figures in Israel.
In December 2025, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said he had been targeted in a cyberattack that compromised his Telegram account.
Hackers later published private messages, photos and videos allegedly taken from Bennett’s phone on a website and social media accounts linked to “Handala,” a symbol associated with the Palestinian cause.
Meanwhile, reports have also suggested that Israel has conducted similar cyber espionage operations.
According to a report published by the Financial Times last week, Israeli intelligence agencies had allegedly hacked a large number of traffic cameras in Tehran over several years in preparation for an operation that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the offensive.
The growing cyber confrontation between Iran and Israel highlights how digital warfare has become an increasingly significant front in the broader geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.
