UK newspaper reveals identity of 8200 intelligence unit chief

The British Guardian newspaper reveals the identity of the commander of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 by following a digital trail linked to a book on warfare and artificial intelligence that the officer had published on Amazon.

The book at the center of what The Guardian calls an “embarrassing security lapse” was The Human Machine Team, a 2021 book whose author, identified only as Brig. Gen. YS, “offers a radical vision for how AI can transform the relationship between military personnel and machines.”

According to The Guardian, the book’s themes “closely resemble” AI-powered target identification systems alleged to have been employed by the Israeli Defense Forces — a claim which the military denies.

The Guardian says that an electronic version of The Human Machine Team “included an anonymous email address that can easily be traced” to the secretive commander’s name and Google account. Multiple sources confirmed The Guardian’s identification of the intelligence officer, the British newspaper says.

The IDF responds to the report by saying that the email address it had unearthed was not the officer’s personal account, but rather was devoted to the book.

“The book in question was published several years ago and the address mentioned in it is not used by the officer personally and has not been used in the past,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says in response to a query on the report.

“However, the reveal of the officer’s personal details is a mistake. The issue will be investigated to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future,” the IDF adds.

The officer’s name has not been published by Israeli media due to military censorship guidelines.