Israel on cyber alert after tunnel sabotaged Remote control: Traffic lights and tunnel signs were taken over by hackers causing chaos. When Israel's military chief delivered a speech this month outlining the greatest threats his country might face, he listed computer sabotage as a top concern, warning a sophisticated cyber attack could one day bring the nation to a standstill. Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz was not speaking empty words. One month before his address, a major artery in Israel's road network in the northern city of Haifa was shut down because of a cyber attack, cyber-security experts said, knocking operations out of commission two days in a row and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. One expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Trojan virus targeted the security camera system in the Carmel Tunnels toll road on September 8. A Trojan is a malicious computer program that can give hackers control over users' computers without their knowledge. The attack caused an immediate 20-minute closure of the roadway. The next day, the expert said, it shut the roadway again during morning rush hour. It remained shut for eight hours. The expert said investigators believe the attack was the work of unknown, sophisticated hackers, similar to the Anonymous hacking group that led attacks on Israeli websites in April. He said investigators determined it was not sophisticated enough to be the work of an enemy government like Iran. The expert said Israel's National Cyber Bureau, a classified department that reports to the prime minister, was aware of the incident. The bureau declined to comment, while Carmelton, the company that oversees the toll road, blamed a "communication glitch" for the mishap. While Israel is a frequent target of hackers, the tunnel is the most high-profile landmark to have been attacked. It is a main road for Israel's third-largest city, and the city is looking to turn the tunnel into a public shelter in case of emergency, highlighting its importance. The incident is the type of scenario that General Gantz described in his address. He said Israel's future battles might begin with "a cyber attack on websites which provide daily services to the citizens of Israel. Traffic lights could stop working, the banks could be shut down," he said.