An IDF Brigadier General who can only be identified as “R” for security purposes has assumed command of the Spectrum of the Cyber Directorate.
By Jonathan Hessen and Erin Viner
During a ceremony marking the transfer of command, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi presented outgoing commander, Brig. Gen. Dror Kashti with an honorary “certificate of appreciation” for “building capabilities and realizing them in a new and developing dimension of combat.”
Gen. Kashti praised his troops for their dedication to the security of the Jewish State, saying “You worked day and night in the spectrum of cyber warfare that diminished the enemy’s capabilities and turned the spectrum into a real battlefield.”
“You acted covertly and professionally from the operations rooms, fortified the walls and turned every stone to exact a heavy and significant price from the enemy,” noted the former IDF commander, adding, “You fought battles against an active and developing rival system. You shaped the rules of the game in the cyber dimension.”
According to report by Microsoft, Israel is listed as the 7th most targeted country in the world for cyberattacks, with the number of attacks attributed to Iran quadrupling. The Islamic Republic has also reportedly stepped up attacks in the cybersphere against the United States and member countries of the European Union.
It is interesting to note that the change of the IDF Cyber Directorate command came on the same day as unidentified actors launched a cyberattack that crippled service at gas stations across Iran.