[SEE ADDED WARNING BELOW]
A fairly active cyber militia within Israel wants you! These cyber activists (Help Israel Win) are actively recruiting pro-Israeli computer users to aide in their cyber attacks against Hamas websites. These efforts appear to date back to the very early days of the latest conflict in Gaza. The militia developed and is distributing a cyber weapon called “Patriot” that once installed turns the volunteer computer to be remotely controlled and used in a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against targeted Hamas websites.
As of late last week, the cyber militia said there were about 8,000 downloads of the cyber weapon. This is not just a hack package. The software includes the ability to remotely update the cyber weapon as well as an uninstaller that will remove the program once the conflict has ended.
This is just one aspect of the growing cyber war. The DDoS coupled with a significant propaganda (PSYOPS) offensive has continued to intensify in the Israel/Gaza conflict. PSYOPS is commonly used to induce and/or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the desired objectives of those launching the psychological operations. There have been reports that the Israeli military is also using the good old phone system in their PSYOPS initiatives. There have been multiple reports that Palestinians have been receiving phone calls from the Israeli army warning them against dealing with or assisting Hamas. Numerous reports of web site defacement have echoed throughout the online world for weeks now. In fact, the Israeli military launched its own PSYOPS and became the first national army to set up an official YouTube channel featuring its own military videos.
This is just the latest indicator of the new hybrid conflict engagement that combines bombs and bullets with bits and bytes. One thing is sure; the cyber war is heating up with multiple other countries getting involved.
A cautionary note. Can someone else use the installed Patriot program? Yes — potentially. That being said, millions of computers have the same issue that are part of BotNets and the owners are totally unaware of that fact. Anyone who grants any type of remote access for maintenance, this type of activism or who knows what are placing themselves at risk.
beside the fact that what they’re proposing is nothing but cyber terrorism (i don’t know in the US, but here in italy people have been convicted for distributing this kind of tools… i guess the DMCA would have something to say about this) no sane people should install this kind of software on their machine without at least having all the source code available for peer review.
Marcello
What if a few thousand people in the U.S. downloaded this and it began to attack the Hamas target — would or could that draw the U.S. into the conflict? YOU BET YA!!!! This is not a good day for anyone! This is VERY DANGEROUS!!!
Dude, this is hardcore. I have been expecting that dromospheric influence is going to overcome traditional boarderlines. Now everybody has a power to be a part of war conflict. What if in the future there is gonna be a possibility to offer part of Urs PC capacity to program real time battlefield simulations for military? Politicians are very scared of this cause they know that every single citizen can be a part of foreign policy now when he has got means to do it.
How on earth could a US citizen helping Israel in cyber attacks draw the US into the current war? And exactly who would we be fighting against in this conflict? Would Hamas start launching rockets at us? Would Iran start shooting at our carriers with those pea shooters they call boats? How on earth could the actions of a few US CITIZENS be considered grounds for war? that theory is entirely ridiculous
Let’s see.
Mosques in America — and around the world — are being infiltrated and radicalized. Money from America — and around the world — is being filtered back to the Middle-ease to support terrorism. A Midrassah in PA, USA has students who openly proclaim that they are Muhajadeen. (an article several years ago.)
AND WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT SOME AMERICANS — OR OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD — USING THEIR COMPUTERS TO FIGHT BACK?! Is this not the Global War On Terror?
Why is it that actions are only wrong when Israel does it?
I have two computers. Where do I sign up?
(Hey vets! If you’re too old to schlep a ruck, you can now sit at your computer!!)
As far as Patriot being uploaded on an American’s computer and then attacking Hamas being grounds for war…I don’t see that happening.
For one Hamas has its hands full with Israel. And although everyone knows Hamas is funded by Iran it is like a proxy war. Like the Soviets in Afghanistan, or the U.S in Vietnam. And since Hamas is a terrorist organization anyways, I don’t see how it matters.
At least cyberwarfare doesn’t harm innocent civilians (i.e, getting hit by missiles or by collateral damage).
If there were a website called “HelpHamasWin” then Coleman would have referred to the owners of the site as “cyber terrorists” for trying to hack websites, yet he refers to these Israeli hackers as “cyber activists.” Why the double standard Coleman?
Good reporting, Defense Tech… Has this story been anywhere else?
Maybe because Hamas is already Internationally recognized as a terrorist group? Nah that can’t be it…
So.. far from being a neutral reporter of the Israel — Palistine conflict Defense tech has begun actively recuiting for pro-israeli groups.
Completely unethical reporting
“Completely unethical reporting.” ??????
And if he supported the Indian (fm India) response to their terrorist problem, is that unethical?
Is he allowed to support the US in our conflict?
Again I ask, why is it only wrong when Israel is involved?
Put this in your pipe and smoke it: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PALISTINE! ONLY ISRAEL!!
or, CAESAR INVENTED PALESTINE, BUT GOD CREATED ISRAEL.
(Time to bone-up on your history, at least 3,000 year’s worth.)
Cyber activist or cyber terrorism?
Hamas; democratically elected representatives of the people of Palestine in certified free and fair elections… or terrorist proxies for Iran?
Patriot or Gullible sheep?
There is a fine line and it’s always easier to see it when you step into someone elses shoes.
The real mystery is why Isreal has 95% of North American media in it’s favor, but the citizens are still not sure. Could it be that eight years of BushCo. has helped us recognize propoganda for what it is. BS just like your blind support of Isreal.
Does nobody see the ironic similarities between the “Warsaw Ghetto” in 1943 and Gaza or Palestine today?
“The Gaza campaign is just one front in the world-wide war against the Caliphatists…“
Amen to that… Too bad your hatred is so strong that your blind to the reality that the Isreali’s and Palestinian’s are just humans struggling to survive.
ahh… btw it’s 2009 dude. Are you saying that the Palestinians aided and abeted in Nazi genocide, helped the rise of communist Russia, masecured Armenians and now have a plan to conquer earth? (I think you are getting the Paliestinians confused with Prescott Bush…)
umm… this “war” is about land, oil and water, natural resources, money and political points. It’s about economic and psychological oppresion and a virtually jailed group of people. It’s about the continued annexation of Palestinian land, homes, villages and lives. It’s about basic human rights and doing to others as you claim you want done to you (or not).
An eye for 1000 eyes? Crusefix versus cluster bombs? I will put this in my pipe and have a bong hit for Jesus. Amen!
Can both side please just dry up and blow away? Please?
Why do the people of the USA let Israel have so much say in its foreign policy ??
Israel cares nothing for the USA or its interests , its a rogue nation which is running scared that US policy may be about to change in the middle east .
I accept Hamas and the like are religious zealots stuck in the stone age who deserve no sympathy but Israel is close behind , none of these peoples are special or chosen . They are just stuck in some cyclical war going back over a thousand years !
The rest of the world is trying to live in the 21st century while these two clowns continue with their warped agendas .
What futures they bequest to their children
Tom Billings thank-you for what you said, it is exactly right, if we had the shear number of rockets landing on U.S. soil that the Israeli’s do daily (last count I heard was 146 down to only 28 a day now) coming from.…say Mexico, we would have invaded long before now.
Tim wrote:
“They are just stuck in some cyclical war going back over a thousand years !“
Close. Actually it dates to 632 AD, nearly 1,400 years.
History: It took “christian” Europe 100 years before they faught back in any meaningful way. Charles Martel (the grandfather of Charlemagne) stopped the Muslim invasion of Europe in France in 732 AD. By then, Islam had slaughtered their way across the middle east and northern Africa. Millions had been slaughtered.
Modern History: From the very day that modern Israel existed the muslims have been attacking with the intent to completely destroy. Israel has been fighting, yea, Fighting back since then.
Islam’s desires are not “cynical.” Their goal, since 632AD, has been global domination. “Dar al Islam“
Israel’s desires are not “cynical.” Their goal is survival.
Cynical ? I said cyclical which means continuing , repeating ! But now you mention it sure this is a war between two cynical morally bankrupt groups . I feel sorry for the everyday Jew and Arab as their respective religious nutters , orthodox jews and Islamic extremists , along with their respective political puppets are nothing but heartless murderers , little men hiding behind giant words , pathetic .
Please no more bleeding heart Israeli rhetoric and propaganda , the Israeli armed forces can‘t afford to take casualties due to public pressure , an upcoming election and their second rate ability ! So they adopt tactics that result in hundreds of child deaths .
If you want to take a moral stance above Hamas then don‘t adopt its cowardly methods ! ie being over protective of your soldiers at the expense of huge child deaths .
Israel has stooped the level of those it fights , the Iranians have succeeded in enticing the Israeli nation in to its world of death and terrorism .
Israel now has only one option destroy Hamas for good and then hezbollah , if it doesn‘t then this will be played out again in a few years and we will see tens of thousands dead .
We in the west are sick of this stone age , dumb and callous CYCLICAL religious war !
People who accuse the US of blind support of Israel have no idea what Blind Support looks like.
Blind support is what the entire Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia gives to the Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank.
Bear in mind, more than half of these nations actually maintain a legal state of WAR with Israel, over the Palestinian issue.
That’s WAR, the Big W word, yes, Libya is at war with Israel as a show of support for Palestinian Arabs. So is Syria. Algeria. Pakistan. Even, weirdly enough, Iraq. That’s what blind support is.
They take it further: If your passport shows evidence of a visit to Israel, you cannot enter many Arab nations. Ever. Because they support Palestinians, that’s why.
When the Sixth Fleet shows up off Gaza and starts taking out rocket launcher sites American Style, THEN maybe we can say the US “blindly supports” Israel. Anything short of that is merely a gentle corrective balance to the blind support against Israel
Politics aside, knowingly carrying out Denial of Service (DoS) attacks is a crime. Now the “Patriot” cyber-weapon may have State support, but anyone outside of Israel could be opening themselves to potential criminal prosecution for international cyber-terrorism.
DoS attacks as described in the article are akin to sabotage and could be prosecuted as such. Without their government’s support one could find themselves in hot water.
Not to mention potentially opening themselves up to cyber counter-attacks.
people seem to forget that israel is GOD’S people.who ever comes against them will not succeed.especially after they just got back thier land back.in 1948 the state of israel became a nation in 1 day, just as it was predicted over 2000 yrs ago in the book of isaiah.so please keep praying for thier saftey. p.s real palistinians were wiped off the face of the earth. these so called palistinians are nothing more than the kin’s of israel.“cousins“thats right.family against family
Tim,
Cynical … cyclical … oops. I’ll clean my glasses next time.
As for the “bleeding heart Israeli rhetoric and propaganda”: It’s called history; pure, unadulterated, un-rewritten, history.
That same history also teaches, via the millions slaughtered between 632 and 732 — as well as the following 1,200 years, that Islam kills everyone; yes Jews, but also Christians, Pantheists, Polytheists, Atheists, and yes, even those who just thought it was “dumb.“
That same history also teaches, via the “cyclical” nature of the wars, that Islam will never stop, never stay away, and never leave us alone. The solution to Islam is the permanent and complete elimination of Islam as a religion, and all of its followers, period.
Here is a thought. Stop blaming Israel (or the US) for all of the world’s problems.
It’s not Israel’s fault that 1.2B muslims cannot pull themselves out of the dark ages. It’s not Israel’s fault that 1.2B muslims cannot get a good education without going to Europe or the US. It’s not Israel’s fault that 1.2B muslims have pathetic infrastructure, pathetic sanitation, and pathetic governments. It’s not Israel’s fault that 1.2B muslims cannot come up with a better excuse for their situation than to blame someone else. Just think how truly pathetic the middle-east would be if they didn’t have oil. Truly, middle-eastern countries and the Islamic religion are the world’s parasites.