Overview
- Yossi Karadi of Israel's National Cyber Directorate told Die Welt that hostile incidents rose to about 4,800 in June 2026 from roughly 1,600 in June 2025, reflecting a roughly threefold increase.
- Karadi said the attacks have targeted systems used by critical infrastructure operators, central government bodies, small and medium businesses, and the general public, naming law and accounting firms as examples of smaller victims.
- Israeli authorities report they have so far defended critical infrastructure from successful disruption while some smaller organisations that lacked strong protections had their computer systems wiped.
- Reporting from multiple outlets notes that Iranian-linked groups are growing more technically sophisticated and that operators have been reported to use generative AI tools to craft malware, phishing in local languages, and convincing fake online personas.
- Officials link the spike to this year's U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran, and the increase shows how state-level cyber campaigns can persist after or alongside kinetic operations and raise risks for businesses and everyday services.