Suspected Spying at Eisenkot Campaign Headquarters: Malware Found on Two Senior Staffers’ Phones

Malware was found on the mobile phones of two senior employees at Gadi Eisenkot’s election campaign headquarters, Channel 12 reported Wednesday evening. According to the report, the software discovered on the devices was intended to enable wiretapping, monitor activity, and extract sensitive political and strategic information from the campaign.

According to the report, the findings emerged as part of an information-security operation launched at the campaign headquarters in recent weeks because of the sensitive information to which staff members are exposed. Under the procedure, a group of campaign staffers, including those in the most senior roles, undergoes daily cyber checks and scans of their mobile phones.

During those checks, malware was discovered in two separate cases on the devices of two senior campaign officials. According to the report, its purpose was to monitor activity on the phones, conduct eavesdropping, and extract sensitive information related to the campaign’s political and strategic operations.

However, the devices on which the software was found do not belong to Eisenkot himself, and the report stressed that he was not affected by the breach.

Despite the seriousness of the incidents and the nature of the software discovered, Eisenkot’s campaign has decided at this stage not to contact law-enforcement authorities or file an official complaint with Israel Police. Instead, it was decided to continue addressing the threat through a private security operation.

As part of that effort, the campaign is maintaining ongoing contact with a private security company that is responsible, among other things, for conducting the daily scans of senior officials’ devices. At the same time, a series of measures has been taken to strengthen protections and harden the computer and communications systems across the entire campaign.