Photo Credit: Flash 90
An Iron Dome aerial defense battery deployed near Jerusalem. (archive)

A Chinese hacker group known as Comment Crew allegedly stole the software design for the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system in 2011.

According to Cyber Engineering Services (CyberESI) CEO Joseph Drissel, the group stole plans online from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Elisra Group, Reuters reported Wednesday.

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Drissel said he decided to go public after warning officials in both the United States and Israel of the breach and finding that neither seemed to take the issue seriously.

CyberESI is a threat intelligence consulting firm based in Columbia, Maryland. He served as acting section chief in a section of the U.S. Defense Cyber Crime Center, part of the U.S. Air Force.

It is not clear what, if any, impact the theft has had on the deployment and implementation of the anti-missile batteries in Israel by the IDF. Some Chinese hacker groups are backed by the Chinese military but it is unclear whether Comment Crew is one of them.

Israel and China have tightened diplomatic ties over the past several years; it is not known whether Drissel’s revelations will have any impact on those relations.


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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.