A hacker with the Syrian Electronic Army disputes new reports that surfaced on Saturday claiming the group targeted the water supply of the Israel town of Haifa.
Professor Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael, the chairman of the National Council for Research and Development, accused the group on Saturday of attempting to launch a cyber attack against the system that controls Haifa’s water supply.
Ben-Yisrael charged the group with attempting the attack in response to an air strike launched in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Foreign media reported at the time that Israel was responsible for the strike.
This is the first time the group has been accused of launching a cyber attack against infrastructure. The group’s mission has, lately, been to target Twitter accounts and blogs for news organizations, though hackers with the SEA have also gone after other organizations like FIFA and the website of Harvard University.
One hacker with the Syrian Electronic Army who goes by “Th3Pr0” told The Desk Saturday afternoon that the allegation was untrue.
“I don’t know the reason really,” the hacker said when asked why thought the allegation had been made, adding that the group had heard the same report in the past and had denounced it on a now-defunct Twitter profile.
The allegation made by Ben-Yisrael seemed to be news for the mayor of Haifa as well. According to the Jerusalem Post, Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said there was a lack of communication between the defense community and the city, saying he found out about the alleged foiled attack from media reports.
Jerusalem Post: Professor alleges SEA launched cyber attack against water supply
