Israeli businessman claims responsibility for cyberattack on government during 2014 independence vote

An Israeli businessman claimed he was behind the cyberattack on the Catalan government during the non-binding 2014 independence referendum held on November 9.

Back then, the executive reported, several attacks over three days on websites such as participa2014.cat, a site encouraging people to vote; the health emergency services' page, the Catalan police website, and the judiciary system's internal website.

The head of this company's statement was published on Wednesday in an investigative report by the Forbidden Stories consortium of journalists, which includes the Spanish newspaper 'El País' as well as Britain's 'The Guardian,' the US' 'The Washington Post,' France's 'Le Monde,' and Germany's 'Der Spiegel' among other news outlets.

Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old Israeli technology expert, says that his companies have been working with intelligence services and meddled in 33 presidential elections by creating disinformation on governments, political candidates, and businesses.

Hanan is a deputy commander in the Israeli army linked to the British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica, a company accused of manipulating millions of Facebook users in favor of Donald Trump's 2016 US election victory.

Politicians call for accountability

The report from the French nonprofit consortium has pushed Catalan politicians to call for accountability, especially to determine whether any Spanish institutions were linked to the cyberattacks.

"With the newly reported information, it is imperative that the investigation starts as soon as possible, with no excuses," a written statement from former president Artur Mas' office reads. Mas was at the head of the Catalan government during the non-binding 2014 independence referendum.

Current Catalan president Pere Aragonès tweeted that the reasons behind the cyberattacks should be made clear out of a sense of "dignity and justice." He believes that the only reason behind these attacks is to "stop" Catalonia and "the unstoppable force of its residents."

For the moment, the Catalan government has not been in touch with the Spanish one, presidency minister Laura Vilagrà said to media outlets on Wednesday.

The attack is "an illegal action and  illegitimate interference in the Catalan governments' information services," Vilagrà said before adding that they could have "compromised the executive's basic services."

One of the options on the table is to take legal action against Tal Hanan.

"The Catalan government's legal services are studying the case and are looking into possibly filing a complaint against this Israeli businessman who seems to have admitted to [the 2014 cyberattack on the government]," she said.

Catalangate

The reports on the cyberattacks during the days leading up to the 2014 independence referendum arrive almost one year after the Catalangate espionage scandal was first reported.

Over 60 attorneys, politicians, and activists with ties to the pro-independence movement, as well as their close associates, were targeted with government-grade Pegasus and Candiru spyware in what has become known as Catalangate. 

This was first reported by the University of Toronto research group Citizen Lab and The New Yorker on April 18, 2022.