Since the start of the Gaza war last year, Israel has emerged as the primary target of Iranian cyberattacks, after Tehran had mainly concentrated on the United States prior to the conflict, Microsoft said on Tuesday.
"Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran surged its cyber, influence, and cyber-enabled influence operations against Israel," Microsoft stated in its annual report, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
"From October 7, 2023, to July 2024, nearly half of the Iranian operations Microsoft observed targeted Israeli companies," the Microsoft Digital Defense Report highlighted.
Before the war, between July and October 2023, only 10 percent of Iranian cyberattacks were directed at Israel, whereas 35 percent were aimed at US entities and 20 percent at organizations in the United Arab Emirates, according to the American software company.
Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has launched several social media campaigns aimed at destabilizing Israel.
"Within two days of Hamas' attack on Israel, Iran stood up several new influence operations," Microsoft noted.
One such campaign, an account called "Tears of War," impersonated Israeli activists who were critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to the crisis over hostages taken by Hamas, the report said.
Another account, "KarMa," created by an Iranian intelligence unit, pretended to represent Israelis calling for Netanyahu's resignation.
After the war started, Iran also began impersonating Israel's partners, Microsoft added.
Iranian services created a Telegram account using Hamas's military wing logo to disseminate false information about hostages in Gaza and intimidate Israelis, Microsoft said. It was unclear whether Hamas was aware or complicit in these actions, the report mentioned.