Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday morning told the weekly Cabinet meeting that so far Israel had remained outside the scope of the wave of malware-for-ransom attacks on thousands of computers in as many as 100 countries.
“We are in the midst of a global cyberattack; almost 100 countries have been affected,” Netanyahu said. “As of now, in Israel, there have not been any attacks against our vital infrastructures. The other attacks have been minor so far, but everything could change.”
“Several years ago, we established a defense network against cyberattacks,” the PM noted. “We also had the foresight to establish the National Cyberdefense Authority, based on the understanding that we are yet to face a new threat.”
As to steps Israelis should take in advance of new attacks, Netanyahu said, “I can only request one thing from Israel’s citizens and Israel’s companies – follow the directives of the National Cyberdefense Authority. There will yet be many developments and we will need to invest more resources in order to ensure that the State of Israel, vis-à-vis both its defense and civilian sectors, has the necessary defensive measures against this new type of threat.”
The PM also commented on a disturbing episode that had taken place in Jerusalem the night before.
“Last night, there was a reprehensible incident in Jerusalem. An extremist and truly marginal faction of ultra-orthodox society, a faction identified with Neturei Karta, burned effigies of IDF soldiers in uniform along with Israeli flags, in order to offend ultra-orthodox soldiers,” Netanyahu said.
“This was deplorable,” he noted. “IDF soldiers guard everyone, including the ultra-orthodox, including these people. I expect, request and demand that all public leaders condemn this despicable act and I also request that the police find those responsible.”