A piece of malware was found on the agency’s networks

Oct 26, 2012 07:14 GMT  ·  By

On Thursday, the Israeli Police were informed that a piece of malware was found in their computer systems. As a result, the agency immediately ordered officers to disconnect their computers from the Internet.

Furthermore, they were all advised not to insert any removable media drives. The main concern was that the virus could leak sensitive information back to its masterminds, Jerusalem Post reports.

Police officials were unable to precisely determine the extent of the damage caused by the cyberattack. It’s also uncertain whether the virus is the work of a single individual or an organized group.

Initial reports revealed that Israel’s Security Agency, the Shin Bet, issued a warning, notifying police of an attempt to plant a virus on their networks. However, the agency denied knowing of the threat.

In the meantime, the Public Security Ministry came forward to state that the ministry’s computer systems were not affected in any way by the incident.