The Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency has exposed attempts by Iranian intelligence services to spy on Israeli defense officials and gather information on civilians. using fake social media pages relating to the ongoing war and issue of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Shin Bet, Iranian operatives have been using fake online profiles and urging Israelis to take photos of the homes of Israeli defense and other officials who appear in the media and speak out against Iran.
Using these fictitious social media pages and websites, the Iranian operatives have initiated gatherings near the homes of the families of hostages held by Hamas. They have also sent bouquets of flowers and messages to the homes of the families, the Shin Bet reported.
Iranian operatives have been exploiting Israeli demonstrations to release the Gaza captives, providing the protesters with signs about the issue that were authored by the Iranian operatives, and asking those who accept the signs to photograph the demonstrators.
In addition, Israelis are being asked online to fill out surveys that require them to enter their personal information.
According to the Shin Bet, these surveys and the requirement to include the respondent’s personal information is an attempt to collect further intelligence about Israeli civilians for later use in persuading the individuals to carry out various assignments.
The Iranian-generated social media profiles were found on Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok. They included pages appearing to be posted by right-wing activists and those in support of the hostages. One fake page, “Kan+” was Iranian-generated and impersonated Israel’s KAN News public broadcaster.
