‘Particularly Sophisticated’ Cyber Attack Made Against Israeli Startup

Jerusalem, 3 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — A recent report made to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate revealed what it called a “particularly sophisticated” cyberattack: an elaborate impersonation of a business meeting with an “investor” led to the downloading of a malicious file during a video call, leading to the takeover of computers and the exposure of sensitive information. The National Cyber Directorate warns that attackers are upgrading their fraud methods with targeted phishing attacks that include intelligence investigation, profiles that appear trustworthy, and fake domains that are set up months in advance.

The report was made by a large Israeli startup company and began with a standard story about receiving a “tempting” call from a supposed investor on the social network. The profile looked credible: a professional photo, investment history, and an impressive business background. Correspondence with the investor quickly progressed to scheduling an online meeting, but instead of a legitimate link for a video call, the employees received a link that looked like a link to ZOOM, but actually downloading a malicious file to their computers when they clicked on it. When the call didn’t work, the attackers sent another link, convincing them to download software that would help solve the Zoom problem. In this way, additional malware was planted on the company’s computers and mobile phone.

In this case, no personal customer information was stolen, but sensitive financial information was exposed.