CYBER SHIELD IN CAMEL LAND

THE WEEK visits a 1,800-acre complex in Negev desert where Israel is creating a Cyber Dome for hybrid wars of the future

- NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA/BEER SHEVA, TEL AVIV AND JERUSALEM

The first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, predicted that the future of Israel lay in Negev, a vast expanse of undulating desert 90 minutes drive from the bustling Tel Aviv. I went there to see this future in July, but all I saw were camels and cattle roaming the countryside. Vegetation was scarce. Seeds of a different kind were being sown in a 1,800-acre complex in Negev’s capital Beer Sheva.

As men behind computer monitors are replacing men in foxholes in modern warfare, Israel has gone all in on cyber, be it for defence or for attack. It has pooled its best brains to design a ‘Cyber Dome’, on the lines of the country’s famous Iron Dome.

The Cyber Dome is big data; it is AI; it is a medley of futuristic digital technology; and it is being composed by an ‘orchestra’ in the desert.

Though the Cyber Dome will fight virtual wars, unlike the Iron Dome, the composition of their soldiers is not dissimilar. These are men and women drawn from the Defence Intelligence Unit 8200; J6 and Cyber Defence Directorate within the Israel Defence Forces (IDF); cyber units of the spy agency Mossad and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet; and the ministry of defence.

“We call it the secret sauce,” said Gaby Portnoy, director general, Israel National Cyber Directorate. “While the orchestra (combined efforts of various departments) works outside, INCD does the internal work. We all work closely together. All the alerts we receive from the orchestra are used to improve our skills. We sit and talk together often.”

Portnoy and friends are working with many partners to build and expand the Cyber Dome as part of a national and multinational strategy. This is especially important because of the ongoing war with Hamas; both sides have reportedly launched cyberattacks to create confusion and alarm.