IDF Unit 8200 Thwarted Terror Attack on Australian Airline

The IDF cyberwarfare Unit 8200 thwarted an Islamic State terror attack on an Australian airliner last summer, according to media reports on Wednesday.

“The unit provided exclusive intelligence that led to the prevention of an air attack by the Islamic State in 2017 against Australia,” a senior IDF officer said.

The target was a civilian airliner en route from the Australian city of Sydney to Abu Dhabi. The information gleaned by the elite intelligence unit led to the arrest of four conspirators in the suburbs of Sydney.

Two separate attacks were reportedly planned. One involved planting an improvised explosive device on an unwitting “mule” who would carry the device on board the plane where it would be detonated while in flight.

“This foiling was possible thanks to the close tracking of the Iranian network’s activities,” an IDF officer said on condition of anonymity.

In addition, it was revealed that Unit 8200 personnel had also blocked a recent Iranian hacking attack against private and public organizations in Israel.

That attack was thwarted in cooperation with the Defense Division of the Telecommunications Department, the IDF said.