X

Israel reportedly hacked ISIS, then Trump told Russia

The intel related to ISIS potentially making bombs that looked like batteries for laptop computers.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
See full bio
Roger Cheng
Donald Trump Announces Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative At White House

President Trump allegedly shared intelligence with the Russians that it gained from Israel. 

 NurPhoto/Getty Images

Cyber-experts working for the Israeli government were able to hack into ISIS's computer systems. 

Israeli intelligence was able to discover that ISIS bombmakers were capable of creating explosives that looked like batteries in laptops, which would fool X-ray machines, according to the New York Times. President Donald Trump is accused of sharing the information with Russian's foreign minister, Sergey Kislyak -- a move that reportedly infuriated Israeli officials. 

The revelations are what led the US to enact a ban on carry-on laptops on planes coming from select counties in the Middle East and North Africa, although the government is mulling an even broader rule. 

A spokesman for the White House couldn't immediately be reached for comment.