Israel says it foiled hackers targeting defence industry

Israel said Wednesday it foiled a cyberattack targeting its defence industry by a shadowy group that the US has linked to North Korea.

The Israeli Defence Ministry said hackers with the Lazarus Group built fake profiles on the LinkedIn social network and posed as the CEOs and senior officials of international companies.

They then offered job opportunities to employees at major Israeli defense firms in an attempt to gain access to their computers and networks to steal sensitive information.

The ministry says the attacks were detected “in real time” and thwarted. It said there was no “harm or disruption” to the targeted networks.