Cyber Incident Victim: Aviation Authority
Date:
Apr 2022
Location:
Israel
Summary
A widespread cyber attack attributed to the Iraqi hacker group ALtahrea Team disrupted multiple Israeli websites, including those of Channel 9, the Aviation Authority, and Kan broadcasting corporation, rendering them offline. The Shiite group claimed the assault was retaliation for the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
| 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 April 20, 2022, multiple Israeli websites experienced disruptions due to a coordinated cyber attack originating from the Iraqi hacker group "ALtahrea Team." The attack commenced early Wednesday, targeting critical online infrastructure and rendering several high-profile websites inaccessible. Among the confirmed affected entities were the Channel 9 news platform, the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority's official website, and the digital services of the Kan public broadcasting corporation. These outages impaired public access to aviation information, news dissemination, and broadcast scheduling during the incident window. Technical details regarding the attack vector were not disclosed in available reports, but the operational impact involved sustained downtime for primary domains and associated web services.
The ALtahrea Team, identified in source material as a Shiite-affiliated group operating from Iraq, publicly claimed responsibility for the offensive. Their stated motivation centered on retaliation for the January 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander killed in a U.S. drone strike. No specific forensic evidence linking the attack to Iranian state actors was presented in the reporting. The incident caused functional disruptions across media, transportation, and public information sectors, though no data breaches or secondary compromises were documented. Service restoration timelines for affected websites remained unspecified in available disclosures at the time of reporting.