Israel Raises Cyber Standards in Bid to Boost Digital Defenses

(Bloomberg) -- Israel will require all telecommunications companies to implement a cybersecurity program to filter out digital attacks. The initiative is an effort to protect the country's critical assets from what officials say are increasingly frequent cyberattacks.

The mandate, made jointly by the Communications Ministry and National Cyber Directorate, sets out a list of requirements that includes installing monitoring and control systems while making boards of directors responsible for the completion of cybersecurity plans. The ministry declined to elaborate on what penalties might be enforced on firms that fail to meet the requirements.

The announcement came after attempted cyberattacks in Israel jumped 137% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier, primarily in the insurance, education, health care, government and manufacturing sectors, according to cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Some individual organizations came under attack more than 1,400 times on a weekly basis, compared with 750 times per week last year, the company said.

Last month the Israel National Cyber Directorate said attackers temporarily knocked some government websites offline. In October, hackers breached an Israeli hospital in an apparent ransomware attack.

“We are raising standards in order to protect Israel and create a kind of Iron Dome against cyberattacks,” said Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel. “It won't matter how strong the attack is or who is the attacker. We will be able to keep Israel secure.”

The Iron Dome anti-missile system, which first went into operation in April 2011, was designed to intercept and destroy rockets from the Gaza Strip.

“The idea to look at the telecoms as a bridge or channel to businesses and consumers and understand that if they are more protected, their users will be as well, is a step in the right direction,” said Gil Messing, spokesman for Check Point.

Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Corp., Israel's largest telecommunication company, said it was still examining the government's requirements and declined to comment further. A company representative said it already meets strict cyber regulations.