A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Photo: Reuters / Kacper Pempel / Illustration.

JNS.org – Iranian hacker group Pay2Key on Sunday claimed to have successfully breached the computer system of Israel Aerospace Industries’ subsidiary company Elta Systems, which developed the radar used in the Iron Dome missile defense system, and reportedly leaked sensitive data on the dark web.

“Knock Knock! Tonight is longer than longest night for @ILAerospaceIAI,” the group tweeted cryptically on Sunday.

The information thus far leaked to the dark web (a part of the internet not indexed by search engines and that requires special software to access) was not classified but may not be all the hackers seized. State-owned IAI said it was looking into the matter.

A week ago, Pay2Key claimed it had hacked an Intel subsidiary in Israel and 40 companies that import coronavirus vaccines to the country.

Earlier this month, a major cyber attack hit dozens of Israeli logistics companies, with hackers making off with information from servers.

In November, Israeli cyber security firm Check Point revealed that Iranian hackers were behind a Pay2Key ransomware attack on dozens of Israeli companies.

The hackers demanded payment of seven to nine bitcoins, worth some NIS 375,000-475,000 ($111,000-$141,000) from each of the companies that fell prey to the attack.

Check Point reported that after four of the firms decided to pay the ransom to release their data, it tracked the bitcoin transactions carried out by the hackers and identified them as Iranian.

Ido Naor, founder and CEO of Israeli cybersecurity company Security Joes, told Israel Hayom: “Based on the reputation of the [Iranian] hacker group, we believe a real threat lies behind the tweet, which will materialize in the near future. The attacks on Intel, Amital and Shirbit only reinforce the fact that Israel is under a concentrated and deliberate attack.”

Another cybersecurity expert who spoke with Israel Hayom said that Pay2Key’s tweet was “mainly proof on their part that their hack was successful. They didn’t say they want a ransom, but it’s safe to assume they will do so soon.”