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Israel Minister's Cleaner Sentenced for Attempting to Spy for Iran-Linked Hackers

A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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Israel Minister's Cleaner Sentenced for Attempting to Spy for Iran-Linked Hackers

A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

A man employed as a cleaner in Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's home was sentenced to three years' prison for attempting to spy for Iran-linked hackers, the justice ministry said Tuesday.

Omri Goren Gorochovsky, a 38-year-old resident of the central city of Lod, had been employed along with his partner as a cleaner in Gantz's home in Rosh Haayin outside Tel Aviv.

He was arrested in November last year and charged with attempting to spy for the Black Shadow group after offering to pass information from Gantz's home to the hackers.

On Tuesday, the justice ministry said Gorochovsky had reached a plea deal in which "he confessed to an attempt to pass on information to an enemy," with the court sentencing him to "three years' prison".

The justice ministry statement described Black Shadow as "a hacker group affiliated with Iran".

The Shin Bet domestic security agency said last year that Gorochovsky never gained access to "classified materials" and therefore did not successfully share state secrets, adding that Gorochovsky was arrested just days after he reached out to Black Shadow.

An arrest warrant for Gorochovsky had indicated he had an extensive criminal history, including five convictions and prison time served for various offences including bank robbery, raising questions about how he was hired to work in the home of one of Israel's top security officials.

Black Shadow has been blamed for multiple attacks on Israel's internet infrastructure, AFP reported.

The group's hacks are seen as part of a years-long covert war between Israel and Iran, including physical attacks on ships and offensive cyber moves online.

In October last year, Black Shadow claimed a cyberattack targeting an Israeli internet service provider that attracted widespread media attention.

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China Conducts Air and Sea Drills Near Taiwan, Blaming Recent Statements by US and Taiwanese Leaders 

This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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China Conducts Air and Sea Drills Near Taiwan, Blaming Recent Statements by US and Taiwanese Leaders 

This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

An unusually large number of Chinese military ships, planes and drones entered airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan between Sunday and Monday, the self-governing island republic's Defense Ministry said.

China said the drills were a response to recent statements and actions by the US and Taiwan.

The ministry on Tuesday published on its social media several images of Chinese drones and ships and said 43 out of 59 of them entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone but that no confrontations were reported. Taiwan monitored the situation and deployed aircraft, navy ships and coastal anti-ship missile defenses in response, the ministry said.

China launches such missions on a daily basis in hopes of wearing down Taiwanese defenses and morale, although the vast majority of the island’s 23 million people reject Beijing's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and its threat to use force to assert its control.

It’s unclear what prompted the large Chinese deployment. Daily figures often vary widely based on statements by the Taiwanese authorities or their US partners.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday the drills were “a resolute response to foreign connivance and support to Taiwan independence, and a serious warning to Taiwan separatist forces.”

China’s military actions are “necessary, legal and justified measures to defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” Mao said.

“In particular, the United States deleted the literal expression that reflected the one-China principle and that did not support Taiwan independence on the website of the US Department of State, which indicates wrong signals to Taiwan separatist forces,” Mao was quoted as saying.

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te also raised Beijing's hackles last week when he said that Taiwan law designates mainland China as a “foreign hostile force” and said tougher measures were being taken to prevent Chinese subversion through the media and civic exchanges. Lai also warned of the danger of influential figures and current and retired military members selling secrets to China.

The Taiwan Strait is an international body of water and one of the most important channels for global trade. While China does not interfere with civilian shipping in the Strait — or in the South China Sea to the south that it claims almost in its entirety — it routinely objects to actions by the US and other foreign navies in the area.

China on Saturday lashed out at accusations by top diplomats from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies who said Beijing is endangering maritime safety.

The G7 had said in a joint statement: “We condemn China’s illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions, including through land reclamations, and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purpose.”

China called the G7 statement “filled with arrogance, prejudice and malicious intentions.”

Faced with the rising threat from China, Taiwan has ordered new missiles, aircraft and other armaments from the US, while revitalizing its own defense industry with submarines and other key items.