Hacking Hezbollah

Some of Israel’s brightest computer engineers were able to succeed where bombs and missiles failed. Last Sunday, the IDF’s Intelligence unit managed to hack into Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station and several Hezbollah websites.

Israeli airstrikes at communications facilities in Lebanon have been largely unsuccessful in stopping Hezbollah broadcasts, but the IDF hackers were able to air defaced images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The image is punctuated by the sound of three gunshots and framed on the top with the words, “Your day is coming, coming, coming.” On the bottom of the image of Sheik Nasrallah are the words: “The state of Israel.” For the next 90 seconds, the message is clear: Give up. Resistance is futile.

The broadcasts include images of dead Hezbollah militants, an apparent effort to counter Nasrallah’s refusal to admit any IDF successes in southern Lebanon. The Israeli technicians were also able to erase some Hezbollah websites.

Speaking on background, one former senior Israel Defense Force official familiar with the operation said, “The aim of this is to disassociate the innocent civilian from the terrorist, who is using them and abusing them, by operating in the midst of a heavily populated area.”