Haaertz: Hamas managed to hack into the phones of hundreds of Israeli soldiers using dating and World Cup apps and managed to gather sensitive information about the military and some of its bases around the Gaza strip.
The apps allowed malicious software controlled by Hamas to be planted into Android smartphones, enabling militants in the Strip to access pictures, phone numbers and email addresses of soldiers posted close to the border, and even allowed Hamas to control the phones’ cameras and microphones remotely.
In a number of cases, Hamas has been able to film what was happening on Israel Defense Forces bases without the soldiers being aware their phones had been hacked. Beginning in January 2018, the military’s information security department has received complaints from soldiers and commanders about attempts by suspicious people on social networks recommending soldiers to download apps from the official Google Play Store. Soldiers who downloaded the app immediately gave Hamas access to all the information on their phone.
One of the apps used by Hamas was a dating app and the other is called “Golden Cup,” which provides real time information on this year’s World Cup.
