Netanyahu: Israel Faces Constant Cyber Attacks

Israel is actively fighting cyber terror while exporting its sought-after know-how to the world. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is recognized internationally as a sought-after cyber power, while it constantly faces cyber threats.

“We are experiencing every month dozens of cyber-attacks on the national level. And at any given moment, including right now, there are probably three to five attacks on the national level that emanate from various sources – the usual suspects and a few others,” Netanyahu said during the 2017 Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University on Monday.

In response, Israel established its national cyber defense authority, whose objective is “not only to respond to attacks, but to prevent them by early warning, to prevent them also by guidance, by teaching a systemic doctrine to the extent that you can be systemic in this business.”

The prime minister said that a few years ago, he “decided to turn Israel into one of the five leading cyber powers in the world and I think by all accounts, we’re there. But, the jury in cyber security is always out. And it’s a constant challenge.”

“This is a fast geometrically rising market,” he said, explaining that the field is constantly changing and “there is never a permanent solution” to cyber attacks.

The governments that Israel comes into contact with want cooperation with Israel on hi-tech, “and just about every one of them wants cooperation with us on cyber technology and cyber security technology,” Netanyahu sad.

Netanyahu also noted that cyber security and cyber technology will be discussed with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his historic visit to Israel next week.

As a testament to Israel’s cyber supremacy, Netanyahu met on Monday with US President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser, Thomas P. Bossert, and with White House Cybersecurity Advisor Rob Joyce.

They agreed to establish joint bilateral working groups on international cyber policy, critical infrastructure, defense, research and development, and human capital development.

Last June, Israel and the US signed a joint declaration on operative cyber defense cooperation.

The declaration expresses the vital nature of international cooperation to effectively deal with joint threats in the cyber sphere, “especially given the commitment of the US and Israeli governments to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation in cyber defense, which has grown in recent years.”

By: United with Israel Staff