A projectile is seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 1, 2024. (Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Israel has become the top target of Iranian cyber-attacks since the start of the Gaza war last year, while Tehran had focused primarily on the United States before the conflict, Microsoft said Tuesday.
Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, "Iran surged its cyber, influence, and cyber-enabled influence operations against Israel," Microsoft said in an annual report.
"From Oct. 7, 2023, to July 2024, nearly half of the Iranian operations Microsoft observed targeted Israeli companies," said the Microsoft Digital Defense Report.
From July to October 2023, only 10 percent of Iranian cyber-attacks targeted Israel, while 35 percent aimed at American entities and 20 percent at the United Arab Emirates, according to the US software giant.
Since the war started Iran has launched numerous social media operations with the aim of destabilizing Israel.
"Within two days of Hamas' attack on Israel, Iran stood up several new influence operations," Microsoft said.
An account called "Tears of War" impersonated Israeli activists critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of a crisis over scores of hostages taken by Hamas, according to the report.
An account called "KarMa," created by an Iranian intelligence unit, claimed to represent Israelis calling for Netanyahu's resignation.
Iran also began impersonating partners after the war started, Microsoft said.
Iranian services created a Telegram account using the logo of the military wing of Hamas to spread false messages about the hostages in Gaza and threaten Israelis, Microsoft said. It was not clear if Iran acted with Hamas's consent, it added.
"Iranian groups also expanded their cyber-enabled influence operations beyond Israel, with a focus on undermining international political, military, and economic support for Israel's military operations," the report said.
The Hamas attack on 7 Oct. 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 42,289 people, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the territory. The U.N. has described the figures as reliable.