From missiles to cameras: How Iran targeted key Israeli sites

Yossi Karadi, director of Israel’s internal cyber agency, said in remarks regarding Iran’s operation against the military Weizmann Institute in Rehovot that the attack was accompanied by cyber activity and infiltration.

The Israeli official alleged that the Iranians hacked security cameras to document the attack on Weizmann and even sent threatening emails to the institute’s staff.

He claimed that when Iran struck the Weizmann Institute with a ballistic missile during the June war, it took control of the street camera monitoring the building just before the missile hit.

Karadi stated that this case illustrates a combination of physical attacks with cyberattacks.

In his first public speech since taking office in March, Karadi claimed that during the 12-day June war, Iran repeatedly used cyber weapons to target Israeli citizens; Tehran allegedly infiltrated parking and street cameras to track the movements of key Israeli figures for potential targeting and harm.

The senior Israeli official also claimed that Tehran leaked information to amplify fear.

The head of Israel’s internal cyber agency added: “We are entering an era where wars begin and end in the digital space, without a single tank moving or a plane taking off. Imagine a digital siege, where power plants go offline, communications are cut, transportation stops, and water is contaminated.”

According to Karadi, Israel is the third-largest target of cyberattacks worldwide, based on Microsoft data.