Cyber Incident Victim: Ono Academic College
Date:
Oct 2023
Location:
Israel
Summary
A hacker group purportedly from Jordan breached an Israeli academic institution's systems, resulting in the unauthorized publication of approximately 250,000 records containing personal information of employees, students, and alumni on Telegram. The incident forced the college to take its IT infrastructure offline while collaborating with national cybersecurity authorities and privacy regulators to investigate and remediate the breach. This attack occurred amid heightened cyber threats targeting Israeli entities during regional hostilities, characterized by website defacements, DDoS disruptions, and other intrusions. Cybersecurity experts described the data exfiltration as a significant incident, underscoring its scale and impact compared to concurrent lower-level cyber activities.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 9, 2023, during heightened cybersecurity threats amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, Ono Academic College near Tel Aviv suffered a data breach. A hacker group claiming Jordanian affiliation infiltrated the college's computer systems and exfiltrated approximately 250,000 records containing personal information of employees, current students, and former students. The attackers subsequently published the stolen data on Telegram, a messaging platform frequently used by hacking groups to distribute compromised information. The breach compelled the college to take its entire IT infrastructure offline to contain the incident and prevent further unauthorized access. Cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies characterized this as the most significant cyberattack in Israel during that week, distinguishing it from more common website defacements and short-lived DDoS attacks observed in the same timeframe.
In response to the breach, Ono Academic College initiated an investigation with cybersecurity experts, who confirmed the unauthorized data exfiltration. The college notified Israel’s National Cyber Authority and the relevant privacy protection regulatory body about the incident. A public statement acknowledged the compromise of sensitive information and indicated that full restoration of IT systems was expected within several days. The attack’s primary impact included the exposure of personal records belonging to a large population associated with the institution, operational disruption due to system downtime, and reputational damage. No additional details regarding the specific nature of the compromised data, the exact intrusion method, or financial consequences were disclosed in available reporting. The incident exemplified the heightened cyber threat environment in Israel during the conflict, with over 40 groups reportedly threatening or attempting attacks, though the college breach represented a rare instance of confirmed large-scale data theft compared to more prevalent but less impactful disruptions.