Israeli defence data stolen by computer hackers

Hackers who broke into the computers of some of Israel’s biggest industrial corporations also stole highly sensitive defence data, a senior police investigator said today.

The investigator, Nir Nateev of the police cybercrime unit, declined to give details.

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said civilian defence contractors were hit and there was a suspicion that politicians may also have been targeted. Israeli TV reported the defence data was taken from firms producing aerial surveillance drones, or unmanned aircraft.

The revelations were the latest twist in an epic business scandal, in which Israeli blue chip companies, including a high-tech giant that trades in New York, are suspected of using illicit surveillance software to steal information from their rivals and enemies.

The “Trojan horse” scandal, named after the monitoring software secretly planted on the corporate computers, has been front-page news since police lifted a gag order this week. Police say 22 people have been arrested, and more arrests are expected.

Some versions of the spy software tempted victims into installing it by posing as a package of confidential documents delivered via e-mail. Once installed, the software recorded every keystroke and collected business documents and e-mails on a victim’s PC and transmitted information to a server computer registered in London.

The suspects in Israel include senior executives from three prominent private investigation firms, among them a former top military investigator, retired Shin Bet security agent and former police officers.