Israel blames Iran for cyberattack on leading engineering institute

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel on Tuesday blamed Iran for a cyberattack that targeted a leading engineering educational institute in the country.

In a statement, the Israel National Cyber Directorate said the cyberattack on the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa city was carried out by a hacking group that works for Iran.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the group, which calls itself "MuddyWater", has carried out several electronic attacks around the world.

Last year, the US and UK blamed the same group for a series of online attacks in Asia, Africa and North America.

Last month, Technion suffered a cyberattack, forcing the Israeli institute to ask students and teachers to detach their computers from electricity.

According to KAN, the hackers asked for a ransom in return of releasing the files they got.

There was no comment from Iran on the Israeli accusation.

Israel and Iran blame each other of carrying out electronic attacks that target vital facilities.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar