Cyber Incident Victim: Honda Israel
Date:
Apr 2015
Location:
Israel
Summary
A cyberattack campaign under the OpIsrael banner targeted Israeli entities, including Honda Israel, with multiple hacking groups compromising hundreds of websites and leaking extensive sensitive data. Attackers exfiltrated thousands of credentials, including PayPal accounts, email passwords, and personal details of citizens—such as names, addresses, and phone numbers—alongside modem login information. The breached data originated from Israeli online portals and was confirmed as legitimate, impacting government and business infrastructure through coordinated efforts by groups like Anonymous Arab and AnonGhost.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
In early April 2015, multiple hacking collectives including Anonymous Arab, AnonGhost, and Anonymous Arabe executed coordinated cyberattacks against Israeli digital infrastructure as part of Operation OpIsrael. The campaign commenced with the compromise of approximately 700 Israeli websites, including high-profile targets such as the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Technion academic institutions, and Honda Israel’s online presence. Attackers simultaneously leaked large datasets containing Israeli citizens’ sensitive information: Anonymous Arab released 2,143 PayPal account credentials, AnonGhost exposed over 7,000 email addresses and passwords, and Anonymous Arabe disseminated personal details of 150,000 individuals including full names, physical addresses, email contacts, and telephone numbers. Technical infrastructure breaches included the unauthorized disclosure of modem login credentials for 6,000 Israeli modems. Forensic analysis confirmed the authenticity of substantial portions of the leaked data, which originated from compromised Israeli web portals such as area.co.il and walla.co.il. Attackers publicly hosted the stolen information on Pastebin, with specific leaks cataloged at designated URLs including credentials (dLGZA3rF), email datasets (Cc0bV0w2), and citizen records (SqjFw9PW). Operational timelines indicated planned continuation of disruptive activities through April 20, 2015, with real-time tracking of defaced domains available via Pastebin (bQcJy4At) and Ghostbin (dcdg4) resources.
The incident’s technical impact centered on large-scale data exfiltration from civilian and commercial entities rather than critical national infrastructure disruption. Financial consequences emerged through the PayPal credential leaks, exposing users to potential fraudulent transactions, while the modem access disclosures created residential network vulnerabilities. The 150,000-record personal data breach enabled identity theft frameworks through comprehensive PII exposure. Honda Israel’s confirmed website compromise represented a corporate brand impact within the broader attack spectrum, though specific data exfiltration from Honda systems remained unverified in available disclosures. No victim organization remediation efforts, law enforcement responses, or service restoration timelines were documented in the source material. Attack methodology emphasized web application breaches and credential harvesting from vulnerable Israeli online services rather than advanced persistent threat techniques. The operation’s cumulative effect constituted one of the largest single-point personal data exposures in Israel’s cybersecurity history at the time, with documented infrastructure compromises persisting through the announced April 20 operational deadline.