https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/28/
JACK: Governments are hacking into other governments. They do it to steal secrets or find how many weapons they have, if they’re planning a strike, or if there’s anything else that might be a threat. Some nations are much more advanced at security than others. One country with advanced cyber-security capabilities is Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
PM: Eight years ago my goal was to make Israel one of the five leading cyber powers in the world. I think we’ve reached that. I think we’re actually maybe even further ahead on that list.
JACK: This is incredible. Israel isn’t even as big as the state of New Jersey so for such a small country to achieve this is no small task.
PM: Means we’re punching a bag two-hundred times above our weight. Not two times, not ten times, and not even a hundred times. Two-hundred times above our weight which means there’s something here that defies numerical size.
JACK: How did such a small country become one of the leaders in the cyber-security space? That’s what we’re gonna find out.
JACK (INTRO): [INTRO MUSIC] These are true stories from the dark side of the internet. I’m Jack Rhysider. This is Darknet Diaries. [INTRO MUSIC ENDS]
JACK: Israel is a tiny country in the Middle East. Most of the countries in the Middle East speak primarily Arabic but not Israel. Most of the countries in the Middle East are predominantly Muslim but not Israel. Many of the Middle Eastern countries are rich in oil but not Israel. It’s almost like Israel is a glitch on the map, a lone island in a sea. But you know what happens when a grain of sand gets into an oyster? The oyster attacks the sand and tries to get rid of it by secreting substances at it and if the sand doesn’t leave, it continues to attack it for years until one day it’s a beautiful pearl. Israel is under attack. [BOMBING] I’m not gonna get into who started what and why there are so many battles going on but at this point the cycle of revenge grows louder all the time. Because Israel is right in the middle of it all, they need to stay technologically advanced or else they risk being taken over.
One example of using technology to defend the attacks is the Iron Dome. Israel frequently sees rockets launched into the country and when this happens the Iron Dome kicks into action; [SIRENS] first initiating a siren in the area, then launching a rocket that flies directly towards the incoming missile and detonates when it’s near it. [EXPLOSIONS] It takes out 90% of incoming rockets this way, and it’s almost an automated method. It’s pretty impressive because of how high-tech and effective it is. This is just one example of how Israel is investing in technology but the whole nation is high-tech. Compared to the US, Israel has more scientists and technicians per capita than us, they have a bigger smart phone penetration percentage than us, and there’s a bigger percent of people online compared to the US. It’s one of the most innovative countries in the world and when you find a place this rich in technology you’ll also find information security. Israel has a few hacker and cyber-security conferences and during some of these conferences the Prime Minster gave a keynote.
COURT: [APPLAUSE] Welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.
JACK: During the talk he explained a new complex they’re building in the desert in a town called Be’er Sheva.
PM: It’s called CyberSpark. It’s a cyber-park and it’s situated in Be’er Sheva. We’re moving our NSA right into that campus.
JACK: Our NSA. The Israeli government has its own version of the NSA. This fascinates me. I want to know more about this. He goes on to explain this CyberSpark further.
PM: It’s a peculiar one because it has several things adjoining each other and I’ll point them out to you. First thing is we have the Unit 8200 headquarters, our collection agency. Here’s the university. Railroad fast line to Tel Aviv University is here, the CERT center here.
JACK: He just pointed to a map and said here is where Unit 8200, their collection agency, is being built, also explaining that this complex has a university, the Israeli Computer Emergency Readiness Team, and a bunch of buildings specifically built for cyber-security companies to work at. Imagine an area of six city blocks that’s roped off for just cyber-security stuff, a place where commercial government and education will all live in the same campus with a train station smack in the center of it. How cool is that? This whole complex is amazing but I’m fascinated with the [00:05:00] intelligence-collection agency, Unit 8200. Later on the Prime Minster commented about the NSA and then said…
PM: If you don’t know what NSA is, it’s America’s 8200 Unit.
JACK: Unit 8200. Now we know the secret name of the Israeli intelligence-collection agency.