Exclusive: Rare Visit to ISA's Cyber Division

In anticipation of the CyberTech 2017 Conference, Israel Defense visited the cyber warfare facilities of the Israel Security Agency. "We have established a single cyber branch that would function as a powerful fist," says the ISA

Exclusive: Rare Visit to ISA's Cyber Division

Photo courtesy of the ISA

At the height of the 'knife terrorism' surge Israel faced during the first half of 2016, many ISA operatives were committed to the operational activity. This time, the ISA personnel did not consist exclusively of hardened field agents armed with handguns, but also included numerous youngsters who operated out of high-tech style open-space offices in central Israel. Their theaters of operations were, in this case, the social media. Working around the clock, the cyber specialists of ISA searched for groups forming and organizing to initiate and execute terrorist attacks.

In fact, these specialists practically "lived" inside those social media. In some cases, the information they collected led to preventive arrests made by IDF and ISA warfighters – those who do operate in the field. In cases where the danger of a terrorist attack was regarded as less imminent, warnings were issued over the telephone: ISA operatives contacted the parents of youngsters from the Judea and Samaria region, and made it clear that if their child were to execute a terrorist attack, the whole family would pay dearly.

"There were times we actually heard the parents slapping their children on the other side of the line, even before the call was over. The parents immediately pledged to assume responsibility for their children's actions," they say at the SigInt-Cyber Branch of ISA. "We estimate that many terrorist attacks were prevented in this way."

We paid a rare journalistic visit to the cyber warfare units of ISA in anticipation of the CyberTech 2017 Conference, to be held between January 30 and February 1 at the Tel-Aviv Convention Center.

The visit provided numerous surprises, as the people of ISA spoke with us very openly about cyber warfare and because the physical environment of the ISA cyber warfare operations is nothing like the standard image that comes to mind in the context of a secret security agency – there are no dark cellars or dull rooms branching out of grey corridors. On the contrary, some of the cyber warfare specialists work in open-space offices located at Israel's bustling high-tech centers (naturally, you will not be able to find any signs on the doors indicating their true organizational affiliation). Others operate from the ISA HQ building, where the work spaces are brightly-lit and the walls are covered with colorful wallpaper. The rest areas have slush and espresso machines along with Playstation and X-Box consoles – as if these were the offices of Apple or Google.

We spoke about the entire cyber warfare setup of ISA, most of which stands at the cutting edge of cyber technology and includes proactive cybersecurity methods. This setup identified and foiled a massive cyberattack against Israel about two years ago, which remained unknown to the public, but we'll get to that.

"Being a Certified Hacker"

"The factor that leads to success or to failure are the people," at ISA they were proud to note that their cyber specialists won a major part of the annual prizes for distinction, awarded at ISA by the Prime Minister in late December 2016.

Are you successful in filling your ranks, despite the struggle over quality personnel opposite the civilian companies?

"Yes, we have 100% staffing, as we offer a state-of-the-art working environment, good pay and stability (even if the pay is a little lower than the standard of the civilian sector), and in particular something else, which is the dream of the young people: to be a legitimate, certified cyber specialist and to be involved in the most sophisticated operations, that are difficult to even imagine."

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The full article was published in the latest issue of the Israel Defense Magazine and will be posted here this weekend.

The CyberTech 2017 Conference and Exhibition will be held at the Tel Aviv Convention Center, Israel, on January 30 – February 1, 2017. For further details and registration, visit the conference website.