A group of pro-Palestinian hackers, who call themselves DragonForce Malaysia, has breached the data of some 280,000 Israeli students, including names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and home addresses, Israeli media reported.
According to cybersecurity expert May Brooks-Kempler, the breach targeted those registered on AcadeMe — an Israeli website that helps students and graduates find jobs.
The hackers reportedly touted the breach as a revenge in the wake of the recent escalation in Gaza between Hamas and Israeli forces. Overall, the death toll among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and the West Bank topped 270, including women and children, while 12 people died on the Israeli side. The fighting followed clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police in East Jerusalem over an Israeli court's decision to evict several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Israeli career development and job placement platform AcadeME has been defaced by Malaysian hacker group “DragonForce Malaysia” pic.twitter.com/qzDyXgzsw8
— 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗶 (@0xMohd) June 19, 2021
The group first announced the leak via the Telegram app earlier this week, dubbing the Jewish state "israhell" over "terrorist activity to the world" and vowing to continue their campaign.