'Early assessments and a quick response from the directorate and staff on the ground halted the attempts and no damage was caused,' said a joint statement issued by the Health Ministry and National Cyber Directorate on Sunday.

Eviatar Matania, the head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, said typical cybersecurity strategy adopted and implemented by many countries and organizations — which almost exclusively 'tend to focus on the cyberthreat' — cannot realistically be applied to Israel.

The agreement deals with cyber defense, partnerships with the private sector, and research and development. It also focuses on the establishment of networks and procedures between Israel's National Cyber Security Authority and its US counterpart in the Department of Homeland Security.

In a speech broadcast to over 2,000 attendees at Microsoft Israel’s annual Think Next event, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that Israeli contributions to technology fields such as analytics and security are “improving the world.”