An Israeli cyber security firm claimed Thursday that the Hamas resistance group was trying to hack Israelis through a fake version of the Code Red rocket warning app.
The warning came amid a bout of aggressions by the Israeli military on the besieged Gaza Strip.
ClearSky Cyber Security claimed that Hamas had put out a counterfeit app that mimicked the real software that warns Israelis of incoming rockets and mortars.
“When you download the (fake) app it takes control of the mobile phone and allows the operator to track the device take pictures record sound and make calls and send messages” said ClearSky CEO Boaz Dolev.
Dolev added that once the app took control of the phone it was impossible to remove even if the app was deleted. He urged Israelis to exercise caution and only download apps from recognized stores like Google or Apple.
ClearSky warned that this could be the first stage of a concentrated effort by Hamas to launch cyber attacks against Israel as part of the ongoing round of violence.
However the firm said that the app had been discovered at an early stage and had not infected very many phones.
