Shin Bet Cyber Defense Better Than We Knew

Former head of the Shin Bet Yoram Cohen said on Tuesday that Israel is always able to identify those who are behind cyber-attacks on the country, even though it may take time to do so.

Cohen’s remarks, made at Tel Aviv University’s international cyber conference, indicated that the Shin Bet’s ability to determine the country’s cyber adversaries is more advanced than had been previously known.

Cohen, who stepped down from the leadership of the Shin Bet a month ago, also gave the agency credit for blocking all major cyber-attacks on Israeli targets since Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered him to upgrade its cyber efforts four years ago.

He added that the Shin Bet was even ready to issue licenses to hackers who would be willing to join the agency’s ranks to defend Israel against its cyber attackers.