In 2012, Israeli cybersecurity experts discovered a group calling itself Lebanese Cedar engaged in hacking, distributing malware, and other digital mischief that appeared to be connected to the Iran-backed terrorist group Hizballah. After ceasing its activities for a period, the group seems to have resurfaced last year. Annie Fixler writes:
In the non-cyber domain, Hizballah has relied on the Islamic Republic to develop its military capabilities. For example, Iran has transferred components for manufacturing precision-guided missiles and has helped Hizballah set up conversion and assembly facilities in Lebanon, with the goal of establishing domestic production capability. Iran has also provided Hizballah with drone technology.
A similar dynamic is happening with technology and cyber capabilities. Iran built Hizballah’s secure telecommunications network and supplies the funding and technical know-how for Hezbollah’s robust cyber warfare training program. The former Israeli national security advisor Yaakov Amidror went so far as to call Hizballah Iran’s cyber “subcontractor.”
The increased likelihood of the use of cyber tools [to attack the U.S. and Israel] is enhanced by another dynamic—the increased effectiveness of the cyber tools available to terrorist groups like Hizballah and other non-state actors. In this latest global espionage campaign, Lebanese Cedar used not only custom, self-developed tools, but also a far greater number of tools readily available to malicious actors on the Internet. The accessibility of sophisticated open-source and dark-web tools is increasing the capability of non-state cyber actors exponentially.
Because of the difficulties of counterattacking Hizballah in the digital realm, Fixler urges the U.S. (and by extension Israel) to focus on cybersecurity, to make cyberterrorism more difficult.
Read more on National Interest: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/hezbollah-and-other-non-state-actors-acquire-asymmetric-tools-cyberspace-177620