WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Jewish groups face “a more concerted and aggressive effort” from Internet hackers, the national community’s security arm said in an alert.
“It is imperative that all IT departments understand how to mitigate the threat and are up-to-date on the necessary technologies and processes to use in order to be proactive and prevent these incidents,” said an alert Tuesday from the Secure Community Network, an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America and of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
“It is apparent that we are currently facing a more concerted and aggressive effort by those attempting to disrupt and deface organizations’ websites and networks,” the alert said.
The alert cited three recent cyber attacks. In one case, an organization’s website was “replaced by a Palestinian flag with the superimposed image of an apparent jihadist displaying a rifle.” The group claiming responsibility called itself CoIDZ.
In another, the alert said, “a group referring to itself as the ‘Blackbirds’ hacked the website of a school and defaced it with anti-Israel rhetoric.” And in a third incident, a Jewish organization’s website redirected to pornography.
Separately, the alert reported that two Jewish federations had been targeted by a credit card scam.
In one case, it said, “the Federation received an $8,100 donation from someone named Davon White. The ‘donor’ then indicated that they made an error and their intention was to provide a gift for $810.00. The alleged donor then requested a refund to a credit card they provided.”
In such cases, SCN urged targets to inform credit card agencies and the FBI.
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