Lebanese state internet provider hit by 10-day cyber attack

Lebanon’s state internet provider Ogero endured a 10-day cyber attack that ended on Sunday, sources told The National.

“Attacks [have] increased tremendously in the last two weeks,” one source said.

Suspicion for the attack has fallen on Israel, which has intensified its cyber warfare as part of its conflict in south Lebanon with Hezbollah.

“There’s no way to specifically confirm where it came from, but given the situation the thought is it likely came from Israel,” said a senior security source.

The impact of the attack appeared limited, as connectivity problems are common in Lebanon.

Abed Kataya, a digital security expert at SMEX, a human rights organisation, said there could be a number of reasons why Ogero was attacked.

“It could be to disrupt the network. Or it could be to weaken the network in order to go in and get to a specific database or traffic data and steal it,” he said.

“Hackers would either sell it or it’s someone from outside Lebanon – in this instance, Israel.

“There should be a follow-up on what happened.

“From 2021 to now, there have not been updates to our counter-defence systems because there is no money.”

Earlier this year, information screens at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport were hacked to display anti-Hezbollah messages.

Since October 8, Iranbacked Lebanese armed group and political party Hezbollah has been engaged in near-daily cross-border attacks against Israel.

The security source said there had been an increase in cyber attacks since the conflict broke out and the incident at the airport was one of the most high profile.