New Delhi: A new report regarding the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has revealed that Israel had hacked traffic cameras and mobile networks across the city of Tehran for years. In this way he kept monitoring the movements of Khamenei and senior officials and kept determining their location. This information has come to light from the report of a leading British newspaper, which states that this network-based surveillance played an important role in deciding the strategy of the US-Israel joint attack.
What was done by hacking the traffic cameras?
According to reports, almost all traffic cameras in Tehran were controlled by Israeli intelligence agencies for a long time. The footage from these cameras was encrypted and sent to separate servers and from there they were analyzed to see what Khamenei’s security team, his surroundings and his daily routes were doing. This data continued to help intelligence officials understand Khamenei’s activities by creating a “pattern of life.”
How was mobile network and additional monitoring done?
Not only were the cameras hacked, but even the mobile phone network was penetrated. By breaking into these networks, some towers were also controlled so that the warnings coming on the phones of the security team could be stopped. This ensured that Iranian security officials could not warn Khamenei in time. Data collected over the past few months helped Israeli and American intelligence agencies estimate the exact time and location.
What is used for precise aiming?
Intelligence services built a detailed profile of Khamenei’s daily schedule, his security structure, and his contacts based on these cameras and network data. The report said that when Khamenei and his senior officials gathered for a meeting at a key site near Tehran, Israel went ahead with the attack with the help of the same data. In this way an accurate attack became possible.
Is this new strategy?
Analysts say that this strategy of Israel and its intelligence partners is not new. In the past years also, this country has been keeping an eye on the activities of its opponents through cyberspace and signal intelligence. The campaign ran for years, generating vast amounts of data that was used to make high-level strategic decisions.
