"The world needs multi-layered, multi-dimensional cybersecurity systems"
"Cyber is becoming an existential threat to countries worldwide, and therefore it is imperative to improve cyber defenses," said Israel Electric Corporation Chairman Yiftah Ron Tal at the Cybertech 2018 conference. He noted that 191 million attacks on the IEC were registered in 2017
Dan Arkin
| 31/01/2018
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron Tal, Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation (Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik)
"Cyber is becoming an existential threat to countries worldwide, and therefore it is imperative to develop defense solutions and improve cybersecurity," Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron Tal, Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation, said at Cybertech Tel Aviv. Last year, he added, there were 191 million attacks against the Electric Corporation, an average of 15 million attacks per month. In May 2016, there were 70 million attacks.
According to Maj. Gen. (res.) Ron Tal, cyber-attacks are a matter of national – and international – security. He claims that a cyber threat is more complex than a nuclear threat, in the sense that you don't know who the aggressor is and where the attack originated from. He went on to survey the energy revolution that would take place within the next twenty years: smaller power stations, new energy storage methods, and decentralization of energy resources. In his view, every person will be able to produce, store, and sell energy. Each house will become a small power station, and a smart grid will connect them all. He calls this phenomenon the IOE – the Internet of electricity.
In this IOE, he emphasized, all these new systems could be targets for hackers, and the impact of a cyber-attack on such a grid could be dramatic. Ron Tal argues that the world is not ready to defend against large-scale cyber-attacks. He claims that the world needs multi-layered, multi-dimensional cybersecurity systems, based on international cooperation and the development of predictive capabilities.
"Cyber is becoming an existential threat to countries worldwide, and therefore it is imperative to improve cyber defenses," said Israel Electric Corporation Chairman Yiftah Ron Tal at the Cybertech 2018 conference. He noted that 191 million attacks on the IEC were registered in 2017
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron Tal, Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation (Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik)
"Cyber is becoming an existential threat to countries worldwide, and therefore it is imperative to develop defense solutions and improve cybersecurity," Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron Tal, Chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation, said at Cybertech Tel Aviv. Last year, he added, there were 191 million attacks against the Electric Corporation, an average of 15 million attacks per month. In May 2016, there were 70 million attacks.
According to Maj. Gen. (res.) Ron Tal, cyber-attacks are a matter of national – and international – security. He claims that a cyber threat is more complex than a nuclear threat, in the sense that you don't know who the aggressor is and where the attack originated from. He went on to survey the energy revolution that would take place within the next twenty years: smaller power stations, new energy storage methods, and decentralization of energy resources. In his view, every person will be able to produce, store, and sell energy. Each house will become a small power station, and a smart grid will connect them all. He calls this phenomenon the IOE – the Internet of electricity.
In this IOE, he emphasized, all these new systems could be targets for hackers, and the impact of a cyber-attack on such a grid could be dramatic. Ron Tal argues that the world is not ready to defend against large-scale cyber-attacks. He claims that the world needs multi-layered, multi-dimensional cybersecurity systems, based on international cooperation and the development of predictive capabilities.
