Unit 8200 – these Cyber soldiers are the engine for Israel’s tech boom

June 25, 2019

Israel is a leader in the field of cyber defence and the reason lies in the military. There it was recognized earlier than in other countries, the need for intelligence activities by a Computer. In addition to the early Start of the Israeli military have a unique advantage. In Israel, compulsory military service prevails. Among the recruits to the Cyber-entities can choose their soldiers.

Special officers of the appropriate students to advertise at the age of 16 years, well before the military service. Liran Grinberg, a former officer in the unit, said the British newspaper “The Telegraph”: “We search for and recruit the most intelligent and most talented 16-Year-olds in the population as a whole. You go in the unit and three to five years later they come out again and go in the technology industry.”

After the army secured the further career in the tech industry, the veterans of the cyber war are sought-after specialists. This Pipeline of military Cyber-units to the technology sector is one of the driving forces, the center made Israel to a technology, writes “The Telegraph.” Every year, thousands of trained specialists, would leave the armed forces. These Cyber veterans owes Israel the leading position in the market of data security.

Dark pages of 8200

Unit 8200, however, is not only for the protection of their own infrastructure. It is also regarded as the originator of the Stuxnet worm that would try to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program.

read: The story of Stuxnet – Like worm in the desert

The unit is accused of systematic individuals to be able to these people later with your secrets to blackmail. came Israeli technology companies are accused of in addition to Saudi Arabia and other regimes helped dissidents and human rights activists in this way, spy.

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The Unit 8200 and other elite units in the industry as of Israel, “the Equivalent of Harvard, Princeton and Yale”. “At University you learn that you study for many years, his diplomas, and then one is an expert. In Unit 8200, there is no time for something like this. They work in hostile environments and the security of the country is at stake,” said Sivan Rauscher, the Chairman of the Board of the Israeli cyber security company, SAM Seamless Network. More than two-thirds of their employees are coming from Unit 8200.

permeability to the economy

In the unit there is a Start-up atmosphere, and for the military unusually flat structure. Young soldiers can be directly with senior officers, so that no information will be passed on in the chain of command. “The Telegraph” was able to observe the training of Cyber warriors at a base in Central Israel during a training Exercise. In a five-day Simulation, you had to protect critical networks from foreign attackers.

Major Guy armed led training course. He said that he would visit with his soldiers, civilian tech company, while veterans who now work in the business, come in periodically and with the young soldiers would speak. “Our people are very much in demand, if you get out of the military because of the experiences that you make with us, are very hard. The Israeli armed forces are known to transfer to Junior staff, great responsibility, and you will be appreciated in the private sector,” he said.

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So much of this permeability is desired, but also that, given the salaries in the tech industry is not easy to persuade soldiers of a longer service time. Conversely, a national crisis can lead to the fact that the reservists would be re-drafted. Sivan Rauscher is accustomed that your key personnel can disappear over night and they found in the Morning only empty offices. The close connection to the tech industry has changed the character of the Secret unit, now clear, said a Former British newspaper. “When I was there, we were not allowed to even mention the name of the unit. And now there are ads for the former to meet on the Radio.”