Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the cyber security conference
Photo: Yariv Katz
Netanyahu: Israel one of 5 leading countries in cybersecurity
Addressing the 8th Annual International Cybersecurity Conference at Tel Aviv University, the prime minister discusses Israel’s cyber challenges but fails to comment on the escalation in the south after 45 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza overnight.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday addressed the 8th Annual International Cybersecurity Conference at Tel Aviv University, which is being attended by Israeli and foreign cyber experts, diplomats and security officials.
In his speech, the prime minister failed to address the tense night in the Gaza vicinity communities, in which some 45 rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu. 'We have unbelievable opportunities' (Photo: Yariv Katz)
Netanyahu's address included a simulated cyberattack. He said his goal eight years ago was to turn Israel into one of the five leading countries in the world in cybersecurity. “We have achieved that and even more,” he said.
“We have unbelievable opportunities and we’re realizing them, and at the same time we have unbelievable challenges and we must confront them,” the prime minister told the audience. “There will be no silver bullet. It doesn’t exist. There will be no solution that stops hermetically any country or even the majority of attacks. It’s not going to happen.
Simulated cyberattack during Netanyahu's speech (Video: Meshi Ben Ami) (צילום: משי בן עמי)
“We monitor the attacks on Be’er Sheva. You should go and see the CERT center. We can monitor quite a bit. We can stop quite a bit. But the only way we can address this enormous challenge to enormous opportunities is to keep running ahead, to be ahead faster and faster and faster. This is a supreme test for our civilization. It is going to be tested not only by criminal organizations, by terrorist, but by other states.
“We have to combine forces. This is why we’re holding this cyber conference here. It is to protect the present and ensure the future, no less than that. I welcome you to come to Israel. You couldn’t have come to a better place for cybersecurity. We want your business."
