I hadn't been paying close attention to this cyber tit-for-tat going on Israel, but now things seem to be escalating quickly.
For those who don't know, the entire episode began when a Saudi hacker released a number of credit card numbers for Israeli citizens. That prompted an Israeli hacker to retaliate by releasing Saudi credit card numbers. That prompted the Saudi hacker to threaten to release more Israeli credit card numbers. That prompted the Israeli hacker to threaten to release even more Saudi credit card numbers. Also, no one knows if this Saudi hacker is actually a Saudi hacker, or a Mexican teenager. And the Saudi and Israeli hacker share almost identical screennames. Are you confused yet? Elizabeth Flock wrote a summary for the Washington Post.
To add fuel to the fire, Israeli foreign minister Danny Ayalon promised to treat hackers like terrorists.
Now AFP is reporting that hackers "claiming to be from the Gaza Strip defaced the website of the Israel Fire and Rescue services." How did they deface it? With the obligatory "Death to Israel" and a picture of Danny Ayalon "with footprints over his face."
Finally, Yaakov Katz is reporting for the Jerusalem Post that the IDF is "assembling elite teams of computer hackers to lead the nation's cyber-warfare efforts." Conspicuous timing, no?
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EDIT: Ray Hanania writes for the Jerusalem Post on just how far this cyber-scandal has spread. Apparently Mahmoud Abbas thinks the Israelis stole his credit card, Ahmadinejad weighs in, and the Hamas chief offers his thoughts on the matter.
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