Hacker attacks on Jordan River Valley water supply spared Israeli fields

A number of critical water management systems in the Upper Galilee region of Israel fell victim to a series of cyber attacks yesterday. The water supply controllers, responsible for irrigating fields in the Jordan River Valley, and local Galil Severage Corporation water treatment systems were damaged. Efforts to eliminate the problems and return the systems to full operation continued throughout Sunday.

Days before the incident, the National cyberganization of Israel had warned local institutions of a sharp increase in cybercrime activity. A number of media agencies, medical, government, and university sites had already been subjected to massive cyber attacks during the previous week. Unfortunately, the situation is expected to worsen in the near future.

The increased cyber attack activity in Israel is part of a larger annual cybercrime event known as “Opisrael,” which seeks to damage the critical infrastructure of Israel. These attacks typically coincide with the period of Ramadan, which lasts throughout April.

Fortunately, local farmers had been alerted to the possibility of a cyber attack and had taken precautions in response. Farmers who had turned off the distance management of their irrigation systems before the attack were not affected. However, those who left their systems on remote control were not as fortunate.

Niv Jona, the manager of the research department of the Cyberizen cyber protection company warned of the potential danger of such cyber attacks, stating that the attack on thousands of water monitors in the Hul Valley region had a direct impact on the operation of the equipment as well as the agricultural areas that rely on it.