BG (res.) Danny Gold: "We are working on a new cybersecurity plan for Israel"
CyberTech 2017: The Head of Defense R&D Directorate at the Israeli MoD reported that the organization he heads is preparing a plan which would position Israel as a global leader in the field of cyber technology
Dan Arkin and Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 01/02/2017
Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik
Cooperation and a holistic approach – these are the vital guidelines for properly addressing cybersecurity. Cooperative alliances between governments, with industries, universities and research institutions and with private and public companies, both large and small. That is how Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, Head of IMOD's Defense R&D Directorate (MAFAT), outlined the proper approach for addressing cybersecurity issues. In his address at the CyberTech 2017 Conference, Gold stressed that cyberattacks may be expected to be more frequent and powerful in the future. The same applies to ransomware attacks, cyberattacks against SCADA systems in industrial plants and DDoS (denial of service) attacks. All of these attacks are expected to be massive, inflict substantial damage and last many days.
MAFAT's fields of activity are normally kept secret, but this time, at the CyberTech 2017 Conference earlier today, Dr. Gold made an exception and reviewed some of the activities in which the Israeli defense establishment's largest R&D organization is currently involved. Gold briefly described MAFAT's fields of activity – military R&D, development and manufacturing, spacecraft and satellites, unmanned vehicles, air-defense systems, intelligence, electro-optics, EW, cyber technology, smart weapon systems and munitions, sensors, SigInt (Signals Intelligence) – MAFAT is involved in all of these fields.
Dr. Gold described two examples of the field of electronic warfare: in preparation for an attack against an enemy target, an aircraft launches several decoys in the enemy's direction. These decoys simulate strike fighters and that is how they appear to the enemy's Radar and surveillance systems. This is a deceptive measure, however, to be followed by the real strike fighters that would launch the actual munitions. Another example of suppressing the enemy's air defenses using electronic warfare: electromagnetic energy is 'fired' at the enemy, blinding the enemy's systems, and our strike fighters can then stage their strike without interruption as the enemy is unable to see them.
The Head of MAFAT reported that the organization he heads is preparing a plan to be submitted to the government, which would position Israel as a global leader in the field of cyber technology. This project is carried out through a cooperative alliance with academia. According to Dr. Gold, the most important aspects of cybersecurity are a proactive approach to cyberattacks, situational awareness – to know who is attacking and hence how to respond – and damage control. He stressed that a holistic approach to this activity and cooperation between all of the elements involved, including government-to-government cooperation, can lead to the development and formulation of effective protective methods and cybersecurity planning.
One Step Ahead of the Hacker
Andrea Biraghi of Leonardo SpA, the Italian technology giant, stressed in his address that as far as cyber warfare is concerned, you must always be positioned one step ahead of the attacker, "as otherwise we will be three steps behind him." The Leonardo Corporation has placed cyber technology at the very top of its scale of priorities. Leonardo is a major corporation involved in the fields of aerospace and security. "In the not-too-distant past, we were facing viruses. Now we face much more serious dangers – cybersecurity currently pertains to our everyday life, and even to public health, as even biotechnological systems could become the victims of cyberattacks."
Facing the Patent Threat
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Berkowitz and Gerson Panitch, Partners at Finnegan LLC., said that "many Israeli companies are currently facing the patent threat. At any given moment there are competitors who are registering patents in order to block you. This is an era of new technologies, and during such an era, companies do their best to secure their technologies using patents."
Berkowitz and Panitch explained that the cyber technology market for the next four years is estimated at a trillion US Dollars. "It's a lot of money," they say. "In 2015 about 35,000 patents were registered in connection with the cyber technology world. It is a massive amount. But while US companies register thousands of patents each year, Israeli companies register only dozens. This is a huge difference. It shows that Israel is far behind regarding the registration of patents worldwide.
"This means that Israeli companies are facing a problem, as someone can block their options of selling in the global market," they say at the Finnegan Company. "There is a huge market for cyber technology products, but unless you are protected by a patent, you will have no defense if sued by competitors."
A few current examples presented by the Finnegan Company included a patent registered by IBM for sending a message if the EXE file is found to have been inflicted by a malicious code. Amazon registered a patent on quadcopter security. The IA Company registered a patent on the identification of typing behavior patterns. Some other company registered a patent on deleting sensitive information from forms in websites. "All of these are generic patents that cover an extensive range of technologies," they say at the Finnegan Company. "If you have a few patents of your own, then when you face a future legal action, you will have the ability to negotiate."
Another aspect of patents – designing the product according to existing patents. "If an investor should consider investing in a company, he will examine the value the patents add to or detract from the company," they say at the Finnegan Company. "If someone had blocked the company, and it has a problem selling the product, this will have a negative effect on the value. On the other hand, if the company should register patents creatively, it will gain value vis-à-vis the potential investor."
The Israel National Cyber Security Authority
Buky Carmeli, Head of the Israel National Cyber Security Authority, spoke at Cybertech about the role of the NCSA: “Our aim is to ensure that every person in Israel will be able to use the computer and the cyberspace safely and securely. The NCSA was founded a year ago with only a few workers. Today it employees 170 people in Tel Aviv and Beer-sheva, engaged in the broad field of cyber protection in the civil sector. In September last year, NCSA established the National CERT already operating successfully these days."
Carmeli added: "A national scale cyber attack is a national scale emergency just like a weather emergency situation or a terror attack. The results of an attack can be severe and require building roadblocks & calling up a large number of people for reserve duty.” The NCSA is formulating regulations, instructions, and orders on how to handle such situations and is also involved in the preparation of the Cyber Law.
CyberTech 2017: The Head of Defense R&D Directorate at the Israeli MoD reported that the organization he heads is preparing a plan which would position Israel as a global leader in the field of cyber technology
Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik
Cooperation and a holistic approach – these are the vital guidelines for properly addressing cybersecurity. Cooperative alliances between governments, with industries, universities and research institutions and with private and public companies, both large and small. That is how Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, Head of IMOD's Defense R&D Directorate (MAFAT), outlined the proper approach for addressing cybersecurity issues. In his address at the CyberTech 2017 Conference, Gold stressed that cyberattacks may be expected to be more frequent and powerful in the future. The same applies to ransomware attacks, cyberattacks against SCADA systems in industrial plants and DDoS (denial of service) attacks. All of these attacks are expected to be massive, inflict substantial damage and last many days.
MAFAT's fields of activity are normally kept secret, but this time, at the CyberTech 2017 Conference earlier today, Dr. Gold made an exception and reviewed some of the activities in which the Israeli defense establishment's largest R&D organization is currently involved. Gold briefly described MAFAT's fields of activity – military R&D, development and manufacturing, spacecraft and satellites, unmanned vehicles, air-defense systems, intelligence, electro-optics, EW, cyber technology, smart weapon systems and munitions, sensors, SigInt (Signals Intelligence) – MAFAT is involved in all of these fields.
Dr. Gold described two examples of the field of electronic warfare: in preparation for an attack against an enemy target, an aircraft launches several decoys in the enemy's direction. These decoys simulate strike fighters and that is how they appear to the enemy's Radar and surveillance systems. This is a deceptive measure, however, to be followed by the real strike fighters that would launch the actual munitions. Another example of suppressing the enemy's air defenses using electronic warfare: electromagnetic energy is 'fired' at the enemy, blinding the enemy's systems, and our strike fighters can then stage their strike without interruption as the enemy is unable to see them.
The Head of MAFAT reported that the organization he heads is preparing a plan to be submitted to the government, which would position Israel as a global leader in the field of cyber technology. This project is carried out through a cooperative alliance with academia. According to Dr. Gold, the most important aspects of cybersecurity are a proactive approach to cyberattacks, situational awareness – to know who is attacking and hence how to respond – and damage control. He stressed that a holistic approach to this activity and cooperation between all of the elements involved, including government-to-government cooperation, can lead to the development and formulation of effective protective methods and cybersecurity planning.
One Step Ahead of the Hacker
Andrea Biraghi of Leonardo SpA, the Italian technology giant, stressed in his address that as far as cyber warfare is concerned, you must always be positioned one step ahead of the attacker, "as otherwise we will be three steps behind him." The Leonardo Corporation has placed cyber technology at the very top of its scale of priorities. Leonardo is a major corporation involved in the fields of aerospace and security. "In the not-too-distant past, we were facing viruses. Now we face much more serious dangers – cybersecurity currently pertains to our everyday life, and even to public health, as even biotechnological systems could become the victims of cyberattacks."
Facing the Patent Threat
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Berkowitz and Gerson Panitch, Partners at Finnegan LLC., said that "many Israeli companies are currently facing the patent threat. At any given moment there are competitors who are registering patents in order to block you. This is an era of new technologies, and during such an era, companies do their best to secure their technologies using patents."
Berkowitz and Panitch explained that the cyber technology market for the next four years is estimated at a trillion US Dollars. "It's a lot of money," they say. "In 2015 about 35,000 patents were registered in connection with the cyber technology world. It is a massive amount. But while US companies register thousands of patents each year, Israeli companies register only dozens. This is a huge difference. It shows that Israel is far behind regarding the registration of patents worldwide.
"This means that Israeli companies are facing a problem, as someone can block their options of selling in the global market," they say at the Finnegan Company. "There is a huge market for cyber technology products, but unless you are protected by a patent, you will have no defense if sued by competitors."
A few current examples presented by the Finnegan Company included a patent registered by IBM for sending a message if the EXE file is found to have been inflicted by a malicious code. Amazon registered a patent on quadcopter security. The IA Company registered a patent on the identification of typing behavior patterns. Some other company registered a patent on deleting sensitive information from forms in websites. "All of these are generic patents that cover an extensive range of technologies," they say at the Finnegan Company. "If you have a few patents of your own, then when you face a future legal action, you will have the ability to negotiate."
Another aspect of patents – designing the product according to existing patents. "If an investor should consider investing in a company, he will examine the value the patents add to or detract from the company," they say at the Finnegan Company. "If someone had blocked the company, and it has a problem selling the product, this will have a negative effect on the value. On the other hand, if the company should register patents creatively, it will gain value vis-à-vis the potential investor."
The Israel National Cyber Security Authority
Buky Carmeli, Head of the Israel National Cyber Security Authority, spoke at Cybertech about the role of the NCSA: “Our aim is to ensure that every person in Israel will be able to use the computer and the cyberspace safely and securely. The NCSA was founded a year ago with only a few workers. Today it employees 170 people in Tel Aviv and Beer-sheva, engaged in the broad field of cyber protection in the civil sector. In September last year, NCSA established the National CERT already operating successfully these days."
Carmeli added: "A national scale cyber attack is a national scale emergency just like a weather emergency situation or a terror attack. The results of an attack can be severe and require building roadblocks & calling up a large number of people for reserve duty.” The NCSA is formulating regulations, instructions, and orders on how to handle such situations and is also involved in the preparation of the Cyber Law.
