‘Iran is the main threat to cybersecurity in the Middle East’

Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) Director-General Yigal Unna spoke on Wednesday at Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Week.

“Iran and its emissaries continue to be the main cyber threat to the Middle East,” Unna said. “Israel is prepared for cyber threats. We have the ability to respond with strength against the attacks, not necessarily in the same medium they attacked.

Showing proof that the Iranians were among the politically active players in cyberspace, Unna proved that Iran works constantly and consistently to attack a range of targets for the purpose of gathering intelligence, changing mindset, and harming or destroying systems Iran is also one of the only countries which launches attacks of destruction, especially against the Gulf States, he said.

Among the newer and more common trends are: additional focus on attacking the supply chain, ransom attacks on large companies, significant increases in revealing weaknesses and various technological infrastructures, and significant reduction in the time between the revelation of these weaknesses and their exploitation.

At the conference, which is being held thanks to Tel Aviv University and the Blavatnik Center, Unna presented the results of a new INCD survey of companies in the private sector. According to the survey, 68% of companies have experienced at least one cyber attack or attempted cyber attack on their organization. Sixty-three percent of those reporting cyber events said the events did not cause damage.

The survey also showed that 84% of companies have a budget for cybersecurity, and 80% say cybersecurity is a high priority for them. This is especially true among information and communications companies and companies with international activity. In addition 75% of companies have a cybersecurity expert, and 60% of organizations update their directorate on cybersecurity at least once each quarter.

The main reason for investment in cyber is the management’s awareness of the issue. This awareness was more prevalent among organizations with international activities.

A total of 300 companies participated in the survey, which was conducted by MIS for the INCD. These companies, all from the private sector, are representative of the various fields of business.