The number of cyber attacks in the Middle East has tripled since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Positive Technologies experts came to this conclusion, the company’s information security business consultant Alexey Lukatsky told a TASS correspondent. The Russian developer of cybersecurity products, solutions and services recorded an increase in the activity of hacker groups that attacked government agencies and energy companies in the region. According to a study by Positive Technologies, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of successful cyber attacks in the Middle East doubled compared to the same period in 2022, and tripled in the first quarter of 2024. "The increase in hacktivist attacks in the Middle East indicates the evolution of strategies in modern conflicts: cyber attacks have become "We predict that rising tensions in the region could lead to an increase in DDoS attacks on media and government agencies. If groups begin to form alliances, they will be able to conduct large-scale cyber operations with more destructive potential," a company representative said. on the sidelines of the Gitex technology exhibition, which takes place in Dubai. According to him, hacker groups operating in the region carried out complex and lengthy cyber operations aimed at stealing data or disrupting the work of organizations. Almost all cybercriminal communities whose activity was studied by Positive Technologies experts attacked government institutions at least once. At the same time, 69% of groups tried to disrupt the work of companies in the energy sector.
The company's experts found that the main consequence of successful cyber attacks on organizations in the Middle East was data leaks. In the third quarter of 2023, their share was 35%, and in the second half of 2024 it increased to 49%. The average damage from cyber attacks on organizations in the region is almost twice as high as in the world. Most often, public sector institutions and industrial companies were attacked, which accounted for 24% and 17% of cyber attacks, respectively. The situation in the Middle East sharply worsened on October 7, 2023 after the infiltration of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, accompanied by the killings of residents of border settlements and hostage taking. In response to the attack, Israel blocked the Palestinian enclave and began launching air strikes on it, subsequently moving on to the ground phase of the operation.
