Israeli cyber warfare professionals targeted human rights and anti-war
activists across the USA in late July and August temporarily disrupting communications, harassing hundreds of computer users, and annoying thousands more.
The Israeli hackers targeted Stephen "Sami" Mashney, an Anaheim,
California, attorney active in the effort to raise awareness of the
plight of Palestinians.
"People have found an alternate way to communicate through the
Internet," Mashney, a Palestinian-American, told the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, "and this attack is backfiring on the hackers.Many people are being educated."
Mashney, who co-manages a popular pro-Palestinian e-mail list hosted by Yahoo! logged onto his Internet accounts on July 31 to find hundreds of e-mail messages from angry Americans. He quickly realized that hackers had appropriated or "spoofed" his e-mail addresses and identity and sent out a message titled "Down With America" in his name. The message named and included contact information for 16 well-known human rights activists and falsely claimed the activists wished to be contacted by anyone desiring advice or assistance in fomenting and carrying out anti-American, anti-Christian, or anti-Jewish activities.