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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| IDF stops Hamas 'honeypots' from trapping soldiers |
| 2020-02-17 |
| [JPOST] As part of "Operation Rebound," the IDF has foiled the third such Hamas network in three years. According to the military, there have been a number of improvements by Hamas, including the use of new platforms like Telegram alongside Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Hamas, the military said, improved its ability to start a dialogue with soldiers, using hashtags and slang. The group also started sending voice messages in an attempt to make the enemy account sound more believable. The IDF identified six main characters used by Hamas, many of whom presented themselves as new immigrants to Israel with hearing or vision problems to explain for their less-than fluent Hebrew. "Yew ain't from around here, are yew?" The characters were: Sara Orlova, Maria Jacobova, Eden Ben Ezra, Noa Danon, Yael Azoulay and Rebecca Abuksis. In addition to using the same characters on various platforms to boost its credibility, Hamas is said to have edited the pictures of the characters, making it more difficult to find the original source of the picture. The new applications used by Hamas included three social networking applications: GrixyApp, ZatuApp and Catch&See. According to the military, unlike the previous honeypot attempts by Hamas, these applications were not accessible through app stores, but could only be downloaded from links sent to soldiers by the Hamas operative. Prior to being downloaded, the application would ask for permission to several applications on the user’s phone, including those used by other applications for legitimate reasons like access to location, camera, microphone, etc. Immediately after downloading the application, it appeared as an icon, but once clicked on it would open with an error message that the device doesn’t support the version of the application and would then seem to delete itself from the user’s phone. But while the application seemed to have disappeared from the phone, the virus remained and gave direct access to Hamas, which would be able to take control of the device. Once on the phone, the virus would give Hamas operatives control over all aspects of the phone, including pictures, the soldier’s location, text messages and the soldier’s contact list. The virus would also have access to the phone’s camera and microphone, taking pictures and recording conversations remotely without the soldier knowing. Unlike in previous attempts by Hamas, the group also was able to download and transfer files and have access to the phone’s GPS, allowing them to know the infected device’s location. At that point, the Hamas operatives would stop communicating with the soldiers. While the military knew about Hamas’s operation for the past several months, it was decided to let them continue, to enable the IDF to have more effective technological means to stop the terror group. The IDF said there was no damage to national security and that the soldiers who have had their phones hacked – mainly conscripted soldiers and low-ranking officers – would be called in to have the virus disabled on their phones. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 In the land of the paleos, a man with both feet is king. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2020-02-17 17:37 |
| #2 IDF stops Hamas ' |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2020-02-17 09:29 |
| #1 presented themselves as new immigrants to Israel with hearing or vision problems to explain for their less-than fluent Hebrew Honey-trappers ? Israeli men must be awfully compassionate people. ☺ - 30 year old hebrew male, looking for a gal. Will settle for cross eyed and deaf women. Really want a fertile woman with good heart. - |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2020-02-17 07:15 |