The Israeli hacker "0xOmer" announced that he intends to publicize the credit card information of roughly 5,000 Saudi citizens if the Saudi hacker "0xOmar" (whose screen name inspired his own handle) continues to leak credit card details of Israeli citizens. The home-grown Israeli hacker, also known as Omer Cohen, made the statements on an online hackers' forum on Thursday. The tit-for-tat cyberwar erupted last week when a Saudi hacker calling himself 0xOmar claimed to have leaked the information of roughly 400,000 Israeli credit card accounts, allegedly gleaned from commercial websites. Israeli authorities said that the number of accounts hacked was in fact closer to 15,000 but nevertheless, the incident stands as one of the worst cases of hacking Israel has ever faced. Since then, hackers on either side have launched retaliatory salvoes nearly every day, with more and more personal information being revealed online. "Israeli hackers are better than Saudi hackers," said 0xOmer in his posting. "It is much more difficult to gain access to Saudi Arabian credit card information as the country has a mere 10 websites and only two online shopping sites! You can call us the defenders of Israel." The Israeli hacker went on to directly taunt his Saudi rival by listing the names of roughly 1,150 Saudi citizens on the online hacking forum. "Too bad he chose to pick a fight with 0xOmer," wrote the Israeli hacker. In a conversation with Israel Hayom, 0xOmer said that he, along with another hacker, Pr0T3cT10n, had gained access to the credit card details of more than 800,000 Saudi citizens, and that the pair intends to publish the information in the future as the need arises. "We are not afraid," said 0xOmer. The Israeli hacker said he believes reports claiming that 0xOmar is in reality a 19-year-old Saudi national currently studying and working in Mexico, saying "when I spoke to him about the matter he became nervous." In recent weeks, confidential channels have been abuzz with reports of hackings, and preparations began for a large-scale cyberattack against Israel. According to information security firm Maglan, the attacks have focused on a list of potential targets gathered by an international hacker group called Team Poison, which comprises more than 50 well-trained pro-Palestinian and pro-Arab hackers. In response to the internecine cyberattacks, the government has called on computer hackers not to take the law into their own hands to avenge attacks on Israeli credit card companies. "We call on Israeli citizens to abide by [the law]. Just as the Israeli government has devised methods to combat terror, we will find solutions to this challenge ... we call on Israeli citizens not to ... act as vigilantes," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said in a statement on Thursday. "We will take firm action against those who compromise our security including through cyberterrorism, and if necessary we will use international law enforcement," said Ayalon, "Cyberterrorism is the new battleground and just as we defeated our opponents in every other arena ... We will defeat this as well." Hamas, which supports terror and refuses to acknowledge Israel but has hinted it may curb armed attacks as part of reconciliation talks with the more moderate Palestinian faction Fatah, described 0xOmar's actions as "a new form of resistance." "We urge Arab youth to ignore these cowardly Israeli threats and to use all means available in the virtual space to confront Israeli crimes," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services' official website was hacked Thursday night, rendering it inaccessible for a number of hours. The hackers, who identified themselves as the Gaza Hacker Team, uploaded anti-Israel content and images including the words "Death to Israel" in Hebrew.
Israeli hacker who leaked Saudi details: I'm defending Israel
Internecine cyberwar wages on between Israeli and Saudi hackers, with credit card data of countless people exposed • Israeli hacker 0xOmer - whose handle was inspired by Saudi hacker 0xOmar - claims to have accessed more than 800,000 Saudi accounts.
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