From "Iron Dome" to "Cyber Dome"

The second day of CyberTech 2015 has opened at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center in Tel Aviv. During the first day, Dr. Daniel Gold, of the head of the "Iron Dome" project, announced he is about to submit a proposal to the government for the development of multilayered defense systems for dealing with the threat of cyber attacks in various fields

From "Iron Dome" to "Cyber Dome"

What's between the Iron Dome and the Cyber Dome? The "father" of the Iron Dome project, Dr. Daniel Gold, likens the anti-rocket system and the defense of the country against cyber attacks.

In his lecture at CyberTech 2015, Dr. Gold said he is heading a team that will soon submit a master plan to the government for dealing with cyber in the civil and commercial areas. In this context, he explained his argument: "with the threat of missiles and rockets the threatening actor reaches achievements without having a direct contact with our forces. Operating missiles and rockets is inexpensive, simple, causes a war of attrition, you can send out barrages and all while having a low-level signature. The Cyber ​​threat is similar in its features: low profile, you can initiate many attacks, it is directed against strategic objectives and the attacker enjoys operational flexibility. Therefore, our idea is to look for similar solutions: design comprehensive multilayered systems of protection (such as missiles), initiate and develop active defense and cause damage to the attacker. As with missiles and rockets, you can create a multilayered protection for the entire country against cyber attacks."

Adi Dar of Elbit Systems said that in the past year there has been a serious increase in large-scale cyber attacks (J. P. MORGAN, eBay, Sony and other large industries). "Today there isn't an industry that is immune, and this is a long-term story. Every manager of a company, organization and enterprise needs to know that he/she is being subject to attacks, and governments must allocate resources to win this war." According to Adi Dar, the future is the development of a single integrated unit that includes all methods of protection and control, and the establishment of a special Cyber ​​Command center inside the organization.

Mike Gordon from Lockheed Martin said that "an energetic struggle against cyber attacks nowadays requires analytical capabilities and leadership. Protection against malwares is not enough. The defender organization must know the overall picture very well, get into the mind of the attacker, to fathom his mentality. We need to know to predict and vision the future of cyber, learn what's going on in the world. Organizations are buying a lot of protection software – this is not the way. An organization needs to know exactly what it needs for defending itself, and buy that."

Hudi Zack from VERINT says that sometimes an organization needs nine months to find out its computer systems were infiltrated – but the damage has been already done. Knowing the big picture and awareness are the guidelines today for coping (with threats). We need to sort what to treat and what to reject, what is more or less critical, build the options of attack and prepare, and reduce false alarms as much as possible."

The last speaker of the first day of the conference, was the mayor of Atlanta Kassim Reed, who praised his city as a technological center, an excellent destination for investment opportunities in Cyber ​​and a center for collaborations between Israeli companies and Atlanta-based American companies, including giants like Coca-Cola, UPS NCR and Delta Airlines.