Cybersecurity and Financial Sector:

Lessons Learned from Israel

MG (Ret.) Professor
Isaac Ben Israel
Director of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary
Cyber Research Centre
Tel Aviv University
17 November 2016
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ABS-MAS Singapore

What is Cyber?
What Cyber is not?

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Three False Dogmas (1)

Stuxnet and the
attack on the
Iranian Uranium
enrichment facility
at Natanz

Cyber warfare is not only about

Centrifuges collapsed.
From virtual
information space to
physical effects

INFORMATION

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How did Cyber Security start?

The main file room

at FBI headquarters
in Washington DC,
1944

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Three False Dogmas (2)

Natanz wasnt
connected to the
external world.

Cyber warfare is not only about

The INTERNET
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Three False Dogmas (3)

Cyber warfare is not only about

COMPUTERS
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What is a computer?

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Major Milestones in Cyber Security Evolution

The 80: In the beginning there was Intelligence
The 90: Information Warfare
2002: National Information Security Authority (NISA)
From Information Security to Cyber Security of
critical Infrastructure
2011: Israel National Cyber Bureau at the PM Office
From Peripheral Security to National Security
2015: Civil Cyber Security Authority

Balancing Cyber Security vs Privacy

The Future: From Cyber Security to Cyber Technology
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So, what is Cyber Security?

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Cyber Security: The Dark

Side of computerization
"There is no dark
side of the moon
really. Matter of fact
it's all dark." Pink
Floyd

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The Computer and the Information Revolution

The Bombe

ENIAC
1946

Alan Turing
)1912-1954(

John von Neumann

)1903-1957(
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The Transistor and the race for miniaturization

The 50s: vacuum Tubes

The 60s: transistors

Today: 2 billions transistors

on a single chip

2013: 5 billion
transistors
on 363mm2 28nm

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Doubling the number of

transistors on a given
area every 18 months

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Moore's Law Keeps Going,

Defying Expectations
By Annie Sneed | May 19, 2015

SAN FRANCISCOPersonal computers, cellphones, self-driving cars

Gordon Moore Predicted the invention of all these technologies half a century
ago in a 1965 article for Electronics magazine. The enabling force behind those
inventions would be computing power, and Moore laid out how he
thought computing power would evolve over the coming decade. Last week
the tech world celebrated his prediction because it has held true
with uncanny accuracyfor the past 50 years.
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Typical National Cyber Policy until 2010

1924

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Major Milestones in Cyber Security Evolution

The 80: In the beginning there was Intelligence

The 90: Information Warfare

2002: National Information Security Authority (NISA)
From Information Security to Cyber Security of
critical Infrastructure
2011: Israel National Cyber Bureau at the PM Office
From Peripheral Security to National Security
2015: Civil Cyber Security Authority
Balancing Cyber Security vs Privacy
The Future: From Cyber Security to Cyber Technology
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The Israeli Cyber Initiative (2010/11)

The goal: positioning Israel
among the five leading
countries in cyberspace
capabilities by 2015

A special task-force was created by the

Prime Minister

Q: How to finish the

work in less than 2
generations of Cyber
Technology?
A: Build a self adaptive
ecosystem

The Vision: To maintain

Israels as a center of
information technology
development with
powerful cyber
capabilities
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ABS-MAS Singapore

The Cyber Ecosystem

Industry

Gov.
(Defence)

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Academy
Schools

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There is no transfer of
Technology.
Only transfer of
technologists is possible.

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Recommendations (1)
To Create a new Cyber Bureau, in the Prime Minister Office,
reporting directly to the PM
The Bureau will be in charge of national cyber policies and
promote the implementation of cyberspace
To update the responsibilities, authorities and functions of
NISA (National Information Security Agency) and determine
the right authority to protect the whole civilian cyberspace.
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Recommendations (2)
To establish academic centers of excellence for
cybersecurity research
To establish a national center of knowledge for HPC with a
supercomputer.

To establish infrastructure to develop cyber technology,

such as HPC, simulators etc.
To invest more in education (including schools) and public
awareness to cybersecurity threats
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Recommendations (3)
To improve export release procedures relevant to cyberspace
and proper oversight of exports in this field.
To develop tools for cyberspace emergencies - Recovering,
ensuring continuity and restarting essential systems harmed in
information events and attacks.

To develop a national cyber defensive envelope - automatic

computerized systems and human systems which, together, will
provide defense for predefined critical computer systems.
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Few Numbers about 2015

Global value of Cyber
Market (products and
services(: ~60 Billion $

400% growth
in 4-5 years
Israeli share: 10%

Israeli share of global R&D

market: 15%
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New Cyber Companies in Israel -2014

Number of
Companies

R&D
Investments M$

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From Cyber Security to Cyber Technology

The
Internet
Paradigm

Internet
of Things

Smart
City

Smart
Nation

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From 5 billion Internet

users to 50 billion.

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Cyber Security as an enabler

Internet of Things, Smart Homes,

Cities and Nations, will not be possible
without a sufficient level of Cyber
Security.

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What is Cyber?
What Cyber is not?
Cyber Security is not about Technology only.
Without taking into account psychology of individuals and social
behavior, legal problems or business considerations, one wouldnt
be able to choose the right technology to develop.
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Main Policy Challanges

How to balance the tension between efficient
defence and civil rights and privacy?
How to solve the first dilemma given the
constraints of a small country?
How to encourage information sharing?
Economics: Business and finance sensitivity to
Government intrusion, the role of MNCs.
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Lior Tabansky, Isaac Ben Israel

Cybersecurity in Israel
SpringerBriefs in Cybersecurity

Springer Intl 2015

ISBN 978-3-319-18986-4

Cyber
security of
civilian cyber
space
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Anomaly (Fraud) Detection

What about
general
detection?

From
Signature
based Anti
Virus to
Artificial
Intelligenc
e.
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Why computers cannot outsmart humans?

Common Answers:
a. Because human brain computing
capability is stronger.
b. Because computer does only what it is
told to do.
c. Because we dont really know what
algorithms our brain is using.
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Deep Learning Algorithms

Machine learning
Neural networks

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Text Reading Software

IBMs Watson
and Jeopardy

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Chatbot Tay:
Uneducated Chat
Robot

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Closing the gap betwe

academic research and
Cyber practice
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The first national research centre supported

by INCB

50 faculty members; 250 researchers

70% in core disciplines: Computer
Science, Engineering, Mathematics, etc.
30% in Law, Business, Political Science, etc.

Competitive grants
Teaching curriculum
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The International Cyber Conference

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CYBER WEEK 2015

The highlight of the years events
is Cyber Week and the Annual
International Cybersecurity
Conference. Attendees included:

leading international cyber experts

Policymakers
Researchers
Security officials
Diplomats
Start ups

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More than
5,000
delegates

From over 45
countries

attended

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Save The Date

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