Jerusalem, 8 November, 2026 (TPS-IL) — More than 7,000 Israelis fell for a fake phishing link in a nationwide cybersecurity exercise conducted by the National Cyber Directorate on Sunday.
Nearly 29,000 emails and text messages were sent to employees across 49 organizations, disguised as warnings from their employers’ human resources departments that their meal subsidies would be blocked unless they updated their payment details.
Approximately 24% of recipients clicked the deceptive link, exposing themselves as potential phishing victims. Those who clicked were redirected to an educational page explaining the exercise and offering tips for identifying fraudulent messages.
The click rate exceeded those recorded in previous exercises: 20% among government employees in 2024 and 12% among Israel Defense Forces personnel in 2025. The exercise launched National Cyber Protection Week, running through November 12, alongside demonstrations of simulated cyberattacks on public screens and popular apps.
