Amid cyber attacks hike, 'Israel' developing cyber Iron Dome: Media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
28 Jun 2023 09:51

The Shin Bet chief says "Israel" is cooperating with several countries in the field.

A student from an engineering school attends, on Meudon, west of Paris, overnight on March 16, 2013, the first edition of the Steria Hacking Challenge (AFP)

In the wake of a rise in cyber attacks against Israeli occupation websites, Ronen Bar, the head of the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, confirmed on Tuesday that "Tel Aviv" was developing the "global cyber iron dome" system in cooperation with a number of countries to identify "threats" using artificial intelligence (AI), Israeli media reported.

"The Iron Dome that the Shin Bet is developing in cyberspace is already taking its first steps, the array of alliances is emerging and it has already come into action," the i24NEWS Israeli broadcaster quoted Bar as saying at the annual International Cyber Week conference hosted by "Tel Aviv" University.

The Israeli security official said the Israeli occupation is "already cooperating with a number of significant countries in the field and we see the global cyber iron dome beginning to take shape."

Bar claimed that the Shin Bet was effectively using AI technology to prevent threats, adding that "the AI technology was assimilated into the Shin Bet's countermeasures machine naturally."

"We identified a significant number of threats using AI ... In order to make sure that AI will lead to evolution and not revolution, we will need cooperation and openness between the technology giants and the security agencies," he indicated.

He added that the Shin Bet realized it was impossible to "win this war with sticks and stones."

Most recently, Israeli media reported that the website of Ben Gurion Airport in "Tel Aviv" went out of service, reportedly due to a reported cyber attack. The Israeli Rotter Net news website also went offline due to a cyber attack launched by the Anonymous Sudan hacker group, while other attacks targeted the Israeli Emergency Alert System application, also known as Red Alert.

The hacking of Israeli websites has seen an uptick in frequency over the past few months. Israeli media reported in mid-April that over 60 Israeli websites came under a heavy wave of cyber attacks in just a few days span.

The targets included Israeli occupation government sites, major newspapers, and public services, where some of the hacks led to a takeover of databases.