Cyber Incident Victim: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Date:
Oct 2014
Location:
Israel
Summary
Anonymous conducted a DDoS attack under #OpOrwahHammad, disrupting access to 43 Israeli government websites including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDF, and Prime Minister's Office in protest of the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old Palestinian-American citizen. The hacktivist group issued a warning message condemning the killing and broader violence against Palestinians, emphasizing continued retaliation against Israeli authorities for perceived brutality. This incident followed prior cyber operations targeting Israeli infrastructure during regional conflicts.
| 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 26, 2014, the hacktivist collective Anonymous launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaign against 43 Israeli government websites under the operation name #OpOrwahHammad. The attack targeted critical infrastructure including the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) website, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Securities Authority, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the State of Israel Mail, and Israeli Immigration portals. Anonymous publicly claimed responsibility through its official news channels, including a tweeted declaration confirming the cyber assault. The group embedded a message within the attack stating the operation had "officially kicked-off" in protest against the IDF's fatal shooting of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Orwah Hammad during a West Bank demonstration two days prior. They characterized the incident as representative of broader brutality against Palestinians and issued a warning to the Israeli government with the phrase "Expected Us," referencing their established pattern of retaliatory cyber operations.
The attack temporarily disrupted access to the targeted websites but did not involve reported data breaches or system compromises beyond service interruptions. Anonymous framed the operation as a direct response to Hammad’s death on October 24, 2014, when a live bullet struck his neck during a protest in Silwad near Ramallah. The group emphasized the victim’s dual Palestinian and U.S. citizenship in its justification. This marked a continuation of Anonymous’s cyber campaigns against Israeli digital assets, following prior operations such as #OpSaveGaza, which had previously targeted Israeli servers during military actions in Gaza. No technical details about attack vectors, mitigation efforts by Israeli authorities, or duration of downtime were disclosed in available reporting. The incident highlighted Anonymous’s recurrent use of DDoS tactics for geopolitical statements against perceived state violence, though specific impacts beyond temporary website unavailability remained undocumented.