Cyber operationsIsrael’s navy protects more than the country’s coast
Cyber warriors working for Israel’s navy are constantly engaged in protecting against intense cyber intrusions which targets the country’s digital infrastructure, according to a senior navy source. “The navy understands that cyber conflicts are wars in their own right, beyond conventional conflicts that we have grown accustomed to. In cyber war, one can engage without firing a single bullet. Attacks can come before a conventional war. There are no official cease-fires. It goes on all of the time,” the source said.
As modern warfare becomes more defined by the technological advances of nations and their adversaries, a military’s ability to defend against cyberattacks is just as important as its ability to defend against physical threats.
Cyber warriors working for Israel’s navy are constantly engaged in protecting against intense cyber intrusions which targets the country’s digital infrastructure, according to a senior navy source who works with the navy’s Information Systems, Processes, and Computerization unit, known by its Hebrew acronym MAMTAM.
“The navy understands that cyber conflicts are wars in their own right, beyond conventional conflicts that we have grown accustomed to. In cyber war, one can engage without firing a single bullet. Attacks can come before a conventional war. There are no official cease-fires. It goes on all of the time,” the source told the Jerusalem Post. For this reason, the navy’s “command and control networks and electronic infrastructure” must be guarded at all times. “Today, all of our systems are based on computerization and databases. We have to bring things that are in the office out to sea and link the sea to the ground command room. Today, our linkage is much faster than in the past,” the source said.
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See also:
- U.S. contemplates responses to a cyber-Pearl Harbor attack on critical infrastructure, 20 February 2015
- New cyber test range trains soldiers for simultaneous cyber and combat operations, 18 December 2014
- New report urges policy overhaul, transparency in offensive cyber operations, 10 November 2014
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MAMTAM, responsible for defending all Israel Navy signal and IT systems, both logistic and operational, recruits a team of programmers as well as cybersecurity graduates. “We are not just IT; we also deal with IP networks. We need cyber defenses, as does the C4i Branch, Military Intelligence, and Israel Air Force,” the source added.
Adding cyber capabilities to the navy’s arsenal has engaged it in the battlefield in ways that were not possible before. The navy’s ability to process vast amounts of information has allowed it to collaborate more with infantry. In the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, the adoption of cyber-based warfare brought ground victories. Infantry commanders on the ground in Gaza were able to send precise coordinates of enemy targets to a missile ship in the Mediterranean Sea. An attack initiated by the infantry, was then able to be executed by a naval guided missile.
“The result is a new sea-based front that we created,” the source said. “All I have to know is the coordinates. This enables me to provide immediate firepower assistance. The battalion commander sends over what he sees. We bring our capabilities to the battle arena. We share visual intelligence,” he said.
When cyber becomes a part of modern warfare, however, every weapon has a counter weapon. Hackers working for or on behalf of adversaries could manipulate missile systems or disconnect communications lines between commanders on the ground and those operating the navy’s missiles. In the 2014 conflict in Gaza, MAMTAM defended a wave of computer attacks targeting military assets. “We were prepared. Yet we saw the technology they used. This has prompted an arms race on our side,” the source said.
