IDF appoints first head for unified cyber warfare corps
New unit aims to unify Israel’s online protection in the face of global attacks via the internet
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IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot appointed a first commander for the army’s new cyber protection corps, which is being touted as the first line of defense against online threats to Israel.
The officer, who could not be identified for security reasons, was promoted from the rank of colonel to that of brigadier-general.
Responsibility for cyber security is today dispersed throughout the army, with the Military Intelligence Directorate handling offensive capacities and the C4I branch dealing with protection. The new corps, which is still being established and is expected to be operational within two years, would bring the army’s cyber know-how under a single roof.
Nationally, the Shin Bet security service, the Mossad, the IDF and the National Cyber Bureau in the Prime Minister’s Office operate without a unified and hierarchical cyber framework.
In August 2014 security establishment officials said that there was an unprecedented cyber-attack on Israel from Iran during the war in Gaza that summer, including the brief hijacking of the Israel Defense Forces’ Twitter account.
The targets were mostly civilian websites and systems, rather than military or national infrastructure networks, Channel 2 reported.
In other General Staff reshuffles, Eilat Brigade Colonel Avi Dahan was appointed deputy commander of the Judea and Samaria Region Division, and Colonel Ofer Levi was appointed deputy commander of the Golan Division.
The Times of Israel Community.