The fate of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty originally signed in 1987 between the United States and the Soviet Union now appears uncertain, since the United States has announced its intentions to withdraw from the agreement and Russia has stated it is prepared to respond accordingly. The significance of the withdrawal from the INF Treaty affects not only the immediate force sizes and structures but also the dynamics of nuclear deterrence in Europe and more broadly. Nowadays and in the future, the assessment of nuclear...
In recent years, foreign countries has increased their attempts to influence democratic processes in rival countries. The aim is to damage the electoral process via cyberattacks on computerized systems or to try and affect the outcomes. Examining the electoral process in Israel makes it possible to identify such attempts and propose ways of dealing with them. This article suggests the need to distinguish between foreign attempts to influence the elections and domestic ones, which are part of the democratic process, and outlines...
Attempts by countries to influence other countries constitute a security challenge and a threat to democracy. European countries have identified this challenge as a threat to national security and are dealing with it through government actions, civilian activity, and cooperation between countries, reflecting different approaches and proposed solutions to the problem. This article seeks to examine the various methods that the major European countries are using to cope with this challenge and to assess the differences between them by...
The international media reported that the United States conducted a cyberattack on command and control computers belonging to Iran’s air defense and surface-to-surface missile apparatuses. The working premise of this essay is that these reports are factually correct. The United States decision not to retaliate against Iran for the downing of the UAV with a kinetic attack, and its choice instead of a standalone cyberattack, i.e., absent synergy with complementary kinetic steps, further entrenches the US posturing as an actor deterred...
One facet of the recent American-Iranian escalation is the cyber realm. Moving the conflict into cyberspace enables one side to commit retaliatory acts while reducing the impact that requires the other side to respond and escalate: this is how the cyberattack by the United States in response to Iran’s downing of the American drone should be understood. Yet considering the rapid development of knowledge and technology in all that is related to cyberspace, integration of the cyber dimension into the sphere of international conflicts...
The resilience of the private sector in the world of cyber has a decisive impact on national security. This sector is usually the weakest link through which cyberattacks develop and serves as a springboard for attackers who are interested in harming state targets. In addition, built-in market failures lead to a lack of sufficient organizational investment in proper cybersecurity. Negative externalization of cyber damage in organizations, the difficulty in quantifying the benefit of investing in cybersecurity, the lack of...
The INSS 12th annual international conference addressed the web of challenges and opportunities Israel faces at the start of 2019. As in previous years, we chose strategic issues from the different spheres – domestic, regional, and international – that make up Israel’s strategic reality, and examine these individually and in context of one another. Continuing a trend from our previous conferences, we approached Israel’s national security priorities critically from a variety of perspectives.
Children and teenagers are part of a weak and vulnerable population group. Their internet activity exposes them to two substantial risks: exposure to harmful content and identity theft and its use for slander and bullying. This article examines the characteristics and scope of the problem. It proposes ways of minimizing the damage that these risks pose to children and teenagers, while dealing with the existing privacy restrictions.
The development of internet use raises serious questions about a person’s right to privacy and the duty of companies to safeguard the confidentiality of information they possess. In practice, too many events have occurred in which confidential information leaks out of the companies responsible for safeguarding it; such information is sometimes even sold to criminals. In the face of these abuses, the western legal system and regulatory agencies have been forced to deal extensively with this seemingly new issue in recent years. Yet, we...
The combination of structural vagueness embodied in large cyber operations and their potential to cause real damage makes cyberspace the ideal field of action for Saudi Arabia and Iran and matches their strategic outlook and their concept of the use of force. The risk and the opportunity that cyberspace offers to each of these countries make it tempting, particularly when it concerns the long-term investment of resources. Cyberspace can therefore be expected to become another central arena of conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran,...
A growing body of literature documents how Islamic extremist groups utilize technology to recruit potential new extremists. This back-end analysis is not matched, however, by the equally important frontend part of the process: How and why do these virtual propaganda/recruiting tools work on populations living in Western societies? Why are people susceptible to extremism while living in stable, free democracies? This paper fuses elements of cognitive psychology) specifically Siboni’s concept of the “first cognitive war”) and virtual...
In September 2017, the European Union (EU) updated its 2013 Cyber Security Strategy. The new version is intended to improve the protection of Europe’s critical infrastructure and boost the EU’s digital self-assertiveness toward other regions of the world. To prevent conflicts from spiraling out of control in cyberspace, the EU agreed on a so-called Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox in October 2017, which sets out possible countermeasures in case of an external cyberattack and raises the costs for perpetrators. The framework encompasses the...
