Israel strengthens its preparedness against cyber attacks

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 In the second yearly conference of ISSA in Ramat Gan that took place recently, the senior lecturer was Rami Efrati, head of the civilian sector department of Israeli National Cybernetic Center.

Mr. Efrati emphasized in his lecture the importance of cooperation between all the organizations in order to enhance readiness and protection capabilities against cyber attacks. The cyber attacks in Israel and abroad are expected to grow and many companies and authorities in Israel are trying to prepare and develop resiliency against these attacks.   Recently, a public committee was established, headed by General (Res.) Ami Shafran, previous chief of IDF Teleprocessing Branch, in order to discuss Israeli cyber regulation and to set standards and criteria for certification of organizations and professionals in the field of cyber.

i-HLS Israel Homeland Security

Recently, a pilot project was initiated for governmental offices` cyber protection and readiness, with the Ministry of Health in the leading role, already prepared for cyber attacks and having been certified recently for the 27799 standard.

Presently, an effort is made to organize the Israeli cyber standards and base them as much as possible on international standards, addressing, among others, the SCADA infrastructures of Israeli critical facilities and the command and control systems managing them.

The multitude of cyber attacks all over the world, including many against Israel, is a first class business opportunity as well as a threat. Israel is a world leader in this field and this can be seen in many aspects. This leadership has to be maintained and leveraged. Israel has to go on leading and become “The Cyber Nation”.

An example for improvement in the Israeli readiness for cyber attacks is the establishment of the National Cyber War Room, connected to the important companies in the field – infrastructure companies, information security companies and others.

The Center`s main activity at present is distribution of information to companies and collecting feedback on information flowing from the companies as part of a culture of information sharing. Mr. Efrati emphasized the need for information sharing, and warned that “the lack of information sharing affects negatively the state`s capability of defense and reaction against cyber attacks”.