IDF scraps plans for a unified Cyber Corps

Officially abandoning plans for a unified Cyber Corps, the army will keep its defensive and “collection” capabilities separate under a new reorganization of its electronic warfare program, a senior IDF cyberdefense official says.

The IDF recently opted to scrap a 2015 plan to combine its cyber units under one body, and has instead opted to keep the existing arrangement of having the army’s defensive capabilities remain in the IDF Teleprocessing Corps, and the secretive 8200 Unit under the purview of Military Intelligence, the senior officer tells reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Reorganizing the IDF is more like going into a jungle and trying to garden it than writing a white paper, where you draw [the plan] from scratch,” the officer says.

As part of the army’s multi-year Gideon Plan, which is meant to streamline the military and cut costs, the area of electronic warfare is meant to receive a boost in funding across the board, for manpower, equipment and training, the officer says.

“Every year, we try to bring more and more funds into cyber,” the officer says.

— Judah Ari Gross