Israel fends off 1000 attacks every minute from cyber terrorists

Tel Aviv - Israel's latest battleground is online as cyber terrorists try to strike a blow against public utilities, launching 1000 attacks every minute.

Ynet reports the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is hardest hit, with between 10,000 and 20,000 cyber attacks every day. IEC board chairman Yiftach Ron-Tal, says, "a cyber war is a prolonged one and unlike a single tactical strike, it's far more dangerous and may take longer to recover from." He says, so far, the cyber security team, "Has recognized hacking attempts via viruses, false passwords etc. We can also easily detect the source of the strike, but we can’t necessarily pinpoint it to an exact location." And Tal says most of the attacks are coming from the US, China, Russia, South Korea and even from inside Israel, but, "the number of hacking attempts from Iran is relatively small – about 100-200 a week." The Times of Israel says water, electricity, communications, and other important services are being targeted. Tal says the IEC considers the attacks as a security emergency, with military-style strategies to outwit, thwart, or fight back against attackers. The IEC has also redeployed its forces to make sure the electric company is able to keep the lights on. Tal says, “In the past, we had two distinct working states — a routine deployment, and an emergency one. No longer. Today we have only one working state, one of war readiness, to deal with terror attacks on the IEC infrastructure, as well as cyber-attacks." Tel Aviv University professor Yuval Ne'eman, who founded the prime minister's National Cyber Committee, tells the Jerusalem Post, “A cyber-war can inflict the same type of damage as a conventional war. “If you want to hit a country severely you hit its power and water supplies. Cyber technology can do this without shooting a single bullet.”