KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Blog

[DISINFORMATION ALERT] Israel-Hamas war causes deluge of dis- and misinformation

Written by Stu Sjouwerman | Oct 11, 2023 12:44:20 PM

Social media, and it seems particularly X (former Twitter) seems to drown in an almost instant deluge of disinformation caused by the horrendous Israel-Hamas war that broke out last weekend. Unfortunately this is going to be used for social engineering attacks that your workforce needs to watch out for. 

A brigade of journalists, researchers, and open source intelligence (OSINT) experts went into action. They tried to verify the torrent of videos and photos being shared online by eyewitnesses. However, people that turned to X for a grasp on the unfolding scenario found themselves wading through a swamp of disinformation.

More than ever, global catastrophes are quickly followed by a rush of disinformation, aimed at influencing the narrative. However, the velocity and magnitude of disinformation generated on X around the Israel-Hamas confrontation is troublesome. Instead of encountering verified and scrutinized information, users on X stumbled upon video game clips masquerading as footage of Hamas aggressions, and images of firework celebrations in Algeria misrepresented as Israeli onslaughts on Hamas.

It is critical in times like this to remind your workforce that what they see on social media better be fact checked before they take any action. It's a sad state of affairs that you can count on social engineering attacks using this war as bait. Step your users through one of these modules that are available now on the modstore: