{"id":263597,"date":"2026-01-29T11:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/263597\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:48:12","slug":"netanyahus-taped-up-phone-camera-spurs-arab-media-buzz-hacking-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/263597\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu\u2019s taped-up phone camera spurs Arab media buzz, hacking claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

A photo showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s personal phone with its camera covered by a sticker was circulated widely Tuesday on social media and Arabic news sites, drawing praise from Iranian-linked hacking groups and prompting debate about digital security and espionage.<\/p>\n

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on his phone as he arrives for a meeting in Jerusalem, with a sticker covering the phone\u2019s camera as part of heightened security precautions amid concerns over digital espionage<\/p>\n

The Iranian state\u2011linked Press TV channel shared the photo on its Telegram page with the caption \u201cHandala cyber resistance group clearly has an employee of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israeli security officials and online commentators said the camera cover is a precautionary security measure intended to prevent unauthorized photography or remote spying, not evidence of a successful hack. <\/p>\n

The move followed tightened security protocols in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, where all mobile phones entering the building now undergo similar protective measures. The policy also applies to phones belonging to Cabinet ministers and advisers attending government meetings.<\/p>\n

Egyptian news site Youm7 also published the photo, questioning why Netanyahu covered his phone camera and noting that it comes after hacks on the phones of Israeli officials in recent weeks and months. The Emirati site Aram News headlined its story: \u201cHe covered the camera for fear of spying: Netanyahu enters a period of digital paranoia.\u201d<\/p>\n

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2 View gallery <\/p>\n

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Composite image shared by Iran-linked Press TV’s Hebrew-language Telegram channel <\/p>\n

Jordanian site Rai Al\u2011Youm similarly asked why the prime minister covered his camera, saying the image \u201craises widespread debate about digital security and the threat of surveillance.\u201d Sky News Arabia and Lebanese outlet Lebanon 24 picked up the photo and highlighted how it intensified public discussion about smartphone vulnerabilities, data leaks and privacy risks in the digital era.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Iranian hacker group Handala claimed it had breached the phone of former justice minister Ayelet Shaked<\/a>, releasing photos of her in military uniform, with family, at social events and in work meetings. In the weeks prior, the group said it also accessed the phone of Netanyahu\u2019s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, and the Telegram account of former prime minister Bennett.<\/p>\n

Covering smartphone camera lenses with a physical sticker is a low\u2011tech method aimed at countering high\u2011tech threats such as remote spyware. In modern cyberwarfare, a device in the pocket of a strategic target can be turned into a surveillance tool; \u201czero\u2011click\u201d attacks can activate cameras and microphones without any visible signs on the screen, such as indicator lights or alerts.<\/p>\n

Security experts say a physical cover acts as a final fail\u2011safe barrier. Even if attackers manage to bypass all software defenses, the visual information captured will be darkness, preventing the collection of sensitive images of meetings, documents or exact locations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A photo showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s personal phone with its camera covered by a sticker was circulated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-263597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}