A former housekeeper for Israel Defence Minister Benny Gantz will spend three years in prison for allegedly attempting to infect the official’s computer with malware in exchange for cash from Iran-linked hackers. The cleaner, the BBC notes, agreed to a plea deal to avoid being prosecuted under espionage charges which carry a sentence of 10 to 15 years.
The cleaner, a 38-year-old Lod resident who had reportedly worked in Gantz’s home for several years, was arrested and hit with the espionage charge last November. According to an indictment spotted by Business Insider, the cleaner allegedly reached out to members of a hacking group known as Black Shadow over Telegram. In exchange for around $US7,000 ($9,717), the cleaner allegedly agreed to feed the hacker’s information from within Gantz’s house and even allegedly offered to plug in a dirty USB device into Gantz’s computer to infect it. On top of that, prosecutors allege the cleaner sent photos of the defence minister’s computer and other items to the hackers to prove he had access to the residence.
In a statement provided to The Times of Israel, the former cleaner’s attorney said he “is not a spy,” and argued their client did not knowingly try to spy for Iran. That’s significant because, maybe you’ve heard, Israel and Iran aren’t exactly on great terms.
“This is about a man who found himself entangled in debt and identified a security breach,” the attorneys said.
Read the article by Mack DeGeurin on Gizmodo.