The Iranian hacker group Handala claimed on Wednesday that it had succeeded in hacking the mobile phone of former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, and even gave the operation a name: “Operation Octopus: Naftali Bennett hacked.”
The hackers mocked the former prime minister, addressing him directly. “Dear Naftali Bennett,” wrote the Iranian hackers, who say they are affiliated with Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, “you once boasted of being a beacon of cybersecurity and presented your expertise to the world. And yet, how ironic that your iPhone 13 fell so easily into the hands of Handala. Despite all your bragging and pride, your digital fortress was nothing more than a paper wall waiting to be breached.”
Bennett responded by saying that “the matter is being handled by the relevant security and cyber authorities. The device is not currently in use.”
The hackers dubbed the alleged breach “Operation Octopus,” apparently in response to Bennett’s repeated calls over the years to strike the “Iranian octopus.”
“You often spoke about the ‘octopus,’ painted it as your enemy, and imagined you could cut off its arms and be safe,” the group wrote in its message to the former prime minister.
“But today, on Handala’s birthday, know this: the octopus is not just watching, you are already caught in its grip,” the group threatened. “While you were pointing at the ‘arms of the octopus,’ the head was already inside your fortress, watching, recording and waiting for this very moment. For two years you lived with an illusion of control, with a fantasy of immunity.”
After claiming it would expose what it had gathered from Bennett’s phone “during years of quiet vigilance,” the group published photos of him offering condolences to bereaved families after October 7, several names of contacts allegedly taken from his phone, and letters he purportedly received and sent.
The claims are being examined by the Shin Bet, and there is no certainty that Bennett’s phone was in fact breached. There is also the possibility that a different phone containing information about Bennett was hacked, for example that of one of his aides.