For a number of decades, Israel has been among the leaders in the manufacture, export, and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This position has given Israel a security advantage and has affected its relations with various countries. In recent years, significant changes have occurred in this sphere, as new manufacturers and exporters, such as China, Iran, and Russia, have appeared, while the United States has changed its export policy. Growing use is being made of civilian technologies and tools, such as drones converted to...
International law is applicable to cyberspace. There is international consensus that the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force, applies to cyberspace. There is, nonetheless, some disagreement on what would constitute an armed attack in cyberspace, and consequently, what response would be permitted. Actions that do not amount to attack may still be prohibited by international law, for example if they constitute interference in the domestic affairs of states.
Over the past decade, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has made the greatest strides in the field of cyberspace. During this period, cyberspace became a pertinent issue and in the IDF it became an extensive field of activity of developing and applying knowledge. The IDF perceives cyberspace and cyber regulation as significant for several reasons: First, they relate to the public discourse on knowledge development and the regulation of relations between the state and the economic system on the issue of national cyberspace and its...
This chapter spans four subjects. The first is an assessment of the national security situation in late 2018, as formulated by the Institute for National Security Studies. The second section focuses on core issues for early 2019 that should be debated by Israel’s military and political decision makers. The third section examines black swan events, strategically significant turning points that are unlikely to occur, but if they do occur, would be of utmost significance for Israel’s political and security situation. It is recommended...
Broad economic warfare encompasses a host of actions aimed at damaging or threatening to damage the economy of an enemy or rival, with the aim of pressuring or weakening it in order to achieve strategic aims. Broad economic warfare encompasses standard economic warfare (such as sanctions), kinetic warfare, and cyber warfare against an enemy’s economy.
The cyber era has changed the realm of broad economic warfare. From an offensive perspective, cyber capabilities make it possible to damage the enemy economy both during wartime and...
Cyberwar, preceding or during nuclear crises, can marginally or even fatally Strain the requirements of nuclear deterrence stability and is capable of disrupting the communications between governments in times of crisis or confusing their assessments of ongoing events. This discussion considers the requirements for successful nuclear crisis management, the possible vulnerabilities induced by cyberwar, and the scenarios in which opportunistic failure is possible.
China, Russia, and other potential adversaries are increasing their efforts to corrupt the supply chains upon which the electric grid and other infrastructure sectors depend. Valuable initiatives are underway to strengthen supply chain risk management (SCRM). Yet, despite these measures, the US intelligence community warns that the growing scale and sophistication of attacks on the supply chain “are placing entire segments of our government and economy at risk.” Similar challenges confront Israel, the United Kingdom, and other US...
Cyber risk management is crucial to improving the level of organizational defense and preparedness for cyber events. This process is an important component in an organization’s operational risk management and in its overall risk management. Organizations in several sectors within Israeli society are obligated to a process of managing cyber risks in accordance with the instructions of the regulator. The aim of this article is to examine the method of risk management, to propose guidelines for the management of cyber risks, and...
While many are justifiably worried about a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, and the regional and international agendas continue to focus on this issue, the region itself is at the height of a conventional arms race. The motivation behind the purchases is linked mainly to the fear of Iran, internal regional competition, and the desire of Arab countries, headed by the Gulf states, to acquire status and prestige for themselves. However, the quantity and quality of the weapons reaching the region could damage Israel’s qualitative...
Similar to other cyber-related notions, there is not any crystallized definition of “cyber intelligence,” nor are there enough studies focusing on how it is crafted. In light of the above, the present paper draws a clearer picture of this emerging practice by taking stock of the existing analytical work on the topic. The paper reviews the available scientific literature addressing cyber intelligence, discusses the notion of cyber INT, and examines how this intelligence is crafted through the lens of the (cyber) “intelligence cycle.”...
The cyber realm is in the midst of evolving into another branch of state warfare, similar to ground, naval, air, and space warfare. As such, it is bound to give rise to a concise and mature operational doctrine that will adopt general military patterns and rationales and will be synergistically integrated with other lines of operation in the conventional campaign. Although several cyber superpowers have already developed suitable doctrines and capabilities, most of the world’s states are still focused on cybersecurity rather than on...
History is replete with examples of world powers, countries, and militaries that failed to identify the revolutionary potential of a new technology and, as a result, lost their advantage and relevance. This article addresses the gap between the essential technological changes that the cybersphere has created and facilitates and the outmoded functioning of intelligence organizations, which have remained rooted in the approaches, architecture, and tenets of the intelligence cycle paradigm that emerged between the two world wars. This...
