US & Israel Agree To Co-operate In Cyber Defense
Israel and the United States have signed a cyber defense declaration calling for real-time operational connectivity through respective Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTS) of both nations.
The declaration of intent was signed by Eviatar Matania, head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate (NCD) and Alejandro Mayorkas, deputy secretary of the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS).
According to the official statement, Israel will be one of the first countries in the world to join Washington’s Automated Indicator Sharing program, a DHS-managed system that allows sharing of cyber threat indicators for preventive and corrective cyber defense operations.
According to the Israeli statement, the two countries have committed to coordinate respective plans and processes to enable “cooperation in real time of valuable information for defensive operations.”
According to Defense News, direct responsibility for the planned bilateral cyber defense operations will come under Suzanne Spaulding, DHS undersecretary for national protection and programs, and Buki Carmeli, head of the Israel National Cyber Authority and the Israeli CERT.
In addition to automated preventive measures, information sharing and analysis, the CERT allows the National Cyber Security Authority to harness national capacity to defend against attack campaigns.
Rafael Ltd. is prime contractor for the Israeli CERT, after winning last year the largest cyber tender in Israeli history. In a recent interview, Rafael executive Yuval Galili said that the company has been involved in cyber protection for its own systems for about 20 years, but it was only until about two years ago that it began to offer such capabilities to export customers and partners.
In March, US Department of Defense spokesperson Peter Cook said that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his Israeli counterpart were committed to boosting cyber cooperation.
