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Experts: Cyber attack shut down Israeli tunnel

Trojan horse infected Carmel tunnels' camera systems early September, caused severe malfunctions for two days, experts say, estimate Iran not behind attack

Experts told the AP news agency that the malfunctions which occurred last month in the Carmel tunnels in Haifa were caused by a sophisticated cyber assault.

 

According to one of the experts, a Trojan horse was inserted into the tunnels' surveillance camera system on September 8 and caused severe malfunctions for two days, which have led to the tunnels' shutdown and to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

 

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The attack caused an immediate 20-minute lockdown of the roadway. The next day, the expert said, it shut down the roadway again during morning rush hour. It remained shut for eight hours, causing massive congestion.

 

The expert said investigators believe the attack was the work of unknown, sophisticated hackers, similar to the Anonymous hacking group that led attacks on Israeli websites in April. He said investigators determined it was not sophisticated enough to be the work of an enemy government like Iran.

 

The expert said Israel's National Cyber Bureau, a two-year-old classified body that reports to the prime minister, was aware of the incident. The bureau declined comment, while Carmelton, the company that oversees the toll road, blamed a "communication glitch" for the mishap.

 

While Israel is a frequent target of hackers, the tunnel is the most high-profile landmark known to have been attacked. It is a major thoroughfare for Israel's third-largest city, and the city is looking to turn the tunnel into a public shelter in case of emergency, highlighting its importance.

 

The Carmelton company, which operates the Carmel Tunnels, addressed the AP report, saying "The event in question was the result of a system malfunction that was fixed in a timely manner."

 

Ahiya Raved contributed to this report

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 10.27.13, 21:08
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