Cyber Incident Victim: United Hatzalah
Date:
Oct 2023
Location:
Israel
Summary
A cyberattack targeting the emergency service's donation website involved flooding the system with tens of thousands of requests per second, disrupting access and preventing critical donations for lifesaving medical equipment. The attack caused significant financial losses estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, hampering resupply efforts for field volunteers during active conflict. The organization confirmed its security systems remained intact but redirected donors to an alternative platform to maintain funding streams. This incident occurred amid broader cyberattacks against multiple Israeli online platforms during the same period.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 9, 2023, United Hatzalah’s donation website experienced a cyberattack that disrupted its operations during a critical period following the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. The attack targeted the platform used to collect funds for lifesaving medical equipment, flooding it with tens of thousands of requests per second in a denial-of-service style assault. This rendered the website inaccessible to legitimate users, preventing donations from being processed. United Hatzalah, an emergency medical service organization, confirmed the incident but could not definitively attribute the attack’s origin, noting only that Hamas or another actor might be responsible. The immediate operational impact included the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, directly impairing the organization’s ability to resupply field volunteers with medical supplies. Eli Beer, the organization’s president and founder, characterized the attack as “horrible,” emphasizing that it obstructed lifesaving efforts during an active conflict.
United Hatzalah responded by activating an alternative donation portal hosted at https://thechesedfund.com/unitedhatzalahofisrael/israelisatwar to maintain fundraising continuity. Beer clarified that the attack did not compromise the website’s security systems or involve unauthorized access to data, describing it strictly as a volumetric overload rather than a breach. The organization prioritized restoring donation capabilities while acknowledging broader cyber targeting of Israeli entities, including The Jerusalem Post, amid the conflict. No technical details about mitigation efforts or attacker infrastructure were disclosed, though United Hatzalah assured stakeholders it was “doing everything we can to fix the problem.” The incident underscored the operational and financial vulnerabilities of critical humanitarian infrastructure during military escalations.