Posted on March 20, 2022 at 8:47 AM

Iranian hacking group leaks personal documents of Mossad chief

A Telegram channel has released documents of David Barnea, a Mossad chief. The Telegram channel has released the documents of the Mossad chief a few days after releasing a video that contained the personal information and photos of the individual.

The Mossad chief was hacked through an old phone that belonged to his wife. The hacking group linked to this attack is said to be affiliated with Iran. However, reports have stated that the leaked information does not contain any sensitive details that could threaten security.

Mossad chief hacked

The Telegram channel dubbed “Open hands” revealed the details of the wage and taxes paid by Barnea from 2020. The group stated that the information released was new. The group has also attacked a cryptic message saying that there was no way that it could have accessed such details by just hacking into the old phone of Barnea’s wife.

“It seems that the director of Mossad’s wage bill can be found in his wife’s ‘OLD PHONE’! Mr Bernea [sic], are they sending your NEW documents to your wife’s OLD phone?? Are you sure that the leakage is just from your wife’s ‘OLD PHONE’?” the group posted.

The documents revealed Form 106 of Barnea. This form is an annual filing of salary and tax details. Thee details were provided by Barnea’s employer, which is the office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister’s office has yet to respond to this leakage.

These documents are a follow-up to an ongoing leak of documents linked to Barnea. Earlier on, this anonymous Telegram channel released a video that revealed the personal images, flight tickets and other personal details affiliated with Barnea. The details in question included the ID card of the Mossad chief and his tax documents that were sent to his wife.

The other sensitive information released by the hackers was a satellite image of a home in the central city of Hod Hasharon. The hackers claimed that the home seen through these satellite images belonged to Barnea.

The video also shows Barnea making silly faces during a private video chat. This was also released as part of the private documents affiliated to the Mossad chief. The group has also added that it has not obtained these personal details by hacking into an old phone of Barnea’s wife, as it was previously reported.

According to the group, the details were obtained as part of a surveillance operation against the Mossad chief. It stated that it commenced its surveillance on Barnea by hacking into the database of a local library based in the city.

It has yet to be established whether the group is accurate in its report of saying that it was through this strategy that it gained access to the personal details of the Mossad chief. The official response from the Prime Minister’s Office stated that Barnea’s phone was not hacked by this group.

The office also added that the released documents contained old information. However, it did not elaborate any further on the extent of the information breach and if there were additional details in the hands of these hackers.

The Open Hands group has not revealed where it is based. However, a report from a media publication written in Hebrew states that the hackers were affiliated with Iran. The details of the leak were also posted on Nour News. The latter is a website affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Group.

The activity of Iranian hackers

Iranian hackers have been notably active in leaking sensitive information. This is not the first time a hacking group linked to the country has published information on targeted people or companies.

In 2021, a hacking group linked to Iran, Black Shadow, attacked an Israeli hosting company. Following the attack, several websites hosted on the company were temporarily suspended. The group also stole data from an LGBTQ dating site, “Atraf”, and published part of the information.

Black Shadow also targeted an insurance company in Israel in 2020, where it sold sensitive information and then sold it on the dark web. The rise in these attacks comes as Israel and Iran continue to be entangled in a cyber-war.

Earlier this week, government websites in Israel suffered an attack that lasted for more than one hour. The attack was linked to Iran. In 2020, officials based in Israel accused Iran of trying to hack into the water system of Israel.