Israel should be a global cyber-power, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday during a conference on cyber warfare at Tel Aviv University.
The premier said Israel must be a significant player in the new cyber warfare arena, adding that "we are preparing ourselves" in line with that aim, Channel 10 reported.
The conference is being held under the headline of "exploring the Cyber warfare arena from the global, national and technological aspects, and reviewing threats and best practices." It has been organized by Tel Aviv University’s Yuval Neeman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security and the Institute for National Security Studies.
"Although the field is not precise… we must enter it… and become a world cyber-power. This is possible. We’re no longer crawling, we’re walking, and soon, we will be running forward," Netanyahu added.
Fast-paced changes in technology means that Israel, like all technologically dependent countries, has become reliant on cybernetics in the field of transport, aviation, banking, medical care and defense, Netanyahu warned. "The more computerized we get, the more vulnerable we become. There is therefore no choice but to deal with this in a more systematic and focused manner," he added, noting the sectors of defense, industry-business, and academic-science sectors as crucial fields of activity.
On Monday, the Institute for National Security Studies released a new study that said a world-wide cybernetics arms race has already begun, including the establishment of offices and headquarters in various countries dedicated to this latest battleground.
The study, co-authored by INSS senior researcher Shmuel Even, and senior IDF Intelligence Directorate researcher David Siman Tov, named the US, Britain, Germany, France, and China as some of the countries that are busy developingcapabilities in the cybernetics battle arena.
"The cybernetic sphere is a new battleground, and joins the land, sea, air and space arenas in modern warfare," said the authors.
"Modern states and advanced militaries are increasing their activities in the cybernetics sphere, which presents a source of empowerment, but is also an Achilles heel," it added.
Vital national infrastructure such as electricity, communications, water, transport, monetary systems and others are based on cybernetics.
So are military command and control networks and advanced battleground technologies, the report noted.
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