Israel cyber agency releases humorous video highlighting Iran's psychological warfare attempts

The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) released a satirical video on Tuesday showing counter psychological warfare against Iranian hackers.

Since the war began, the INCD has received upwards of 1,300 reports of Iranian psychological warfare attempts using deceptive phone calls or text messages to manipulate or scare Israeli citizens.  

Of those reported, 77% so far have been "phishing" attempts to hack into Israelis' personal information.

The video shows top Iranian military and cyber officials using their “doomsday weapon” (a rotary phone) to call a resident in Tel Aviv and intimidate him into surrendering.

The informed Israeli, aware of their tactics, is not moved by their threats and pokes fun at the officials for their lack of ingenuity.

Next, one of the Iranian officials suggests texting the same Israeli man, but another reminds him that Israelis have learned to ignore the WhatsApp hacking messages, too.

שיחות הפחדה מאיראן? לא נבהלים. מנתקים.

לפרטים נוספים:https://t.co/ejkt8O0VCi pic.twitter.com/5ry7TsvL2n

— Cyber Israel - מערך הסייבר הלאומי (@Israel_Cyber) March 10, 2026

On Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched their joint-military operation against Iran, cyber operations were reported to accompany the strikes.

Since Iran lacks comparable conventional military options against the U.S. and Israel, the regime has historically relied on cyber operations and its proxies for its primary method of response.

The latest strikes are expected to mark the beginning of a new phase of cyber warfare, posing a global threat.