Hacktivist group claims breach of Israeli satellite operator Spacecom

Spacecom, the Israeli satellite communications company that manages the AMOS satellite fleet, has been listed as a victim on the dark web blog of pro-Palestinian hacker group Handala. The group claims to have gained access to the company’s ground control stations and exfiltrated hundreds of gigabytes of sensitive data.

Handala alleged that the breach involved 379 gigabytes of information from ground stations across multiple countries, including non-disclosure agreements and employee records. The hackers also published a smaller sample of roughly 960 megabytes, containing satellite logs and other technical data.

Researchers who reviewed the sample cast doubt on the group’s more dramatic claims. According to analysts from the Cybernews research team, the files include RINEX observation and navigation logs as well as client contracts related to the AMOS-17 satellite. While these documents may provide operational insights, experts said they do not appear to grant control over the satellites themselves.

“The evidence that they indeed have some highly confidential data or sensitive systems that can control the company’s satellites is not that convincing,” the researchers said, adding that the exposed information could instead be exploited in social engineering attacks against staff.

Handala, a pro-Tehran hacktivist collective, has a history of targeting Israeli and Western organizations. The group runs a leak site similar to ransomware gangs, where it publishes data from its claimed intrusions. Earlier this year, it listed Iran International, an independent media outlet, among its victims.

Spacecom, which generates around $100 million annually, operates satellites that provide communications services for both civilian and military use across the Middle East, Europe, and other regions. The company has not yet commented on the alleged breach.