A senior Israeli cybersecurity official says the number of Iranian cyberattacks targeting Israel has risen sharply since the start of a U.S.-Israeli military offensive against Iran this year.
Yossi Karadi, Director General of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, spoke with German newspaper Die Welt, revealing that Israeli authorities recorded approximately 1,600 hostile cyber incidents during June 2025, when Israeli military operations against Iran were underway. That number soared to roughly 4,800 incidents during the same month in 2026.
“Some groups are very skilled,” Karadi told the newspaper. “We can handle them, but we have to take them seriously. Unlike in the kinetic realm, there’s no ceasefire in cyberspace.”
Karadi explained that the attacks have been aimed at a wide range of targets, including critical infrastructure systems, major organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, and the general public. He specifically mentioned law practices and accounting firms among the smaller entities that have been hit.
“So far — and hopefully it stays that way — we’ve managed to fend off attacks on critical infrastructure,” he said.
He added that organizations with weaker defenses often had their computer systems completely wiped out, though he declined to name any specific victims.
Iran has historically denied involvement in hacking operations against other nations, even as it reports being the target of cyberattacks itself.
