(JNS.org) The U.S. and Israel announced a pact to establish a cybersecurity working group.
The new working group will be led by Rob Joyce, special assistant to President Donald Trump and cybersecurity coordinator, and Dr. Eviatar Matania, director of the National Cyber Bureau at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday with Joyce and Tom Bossert, the Trump administration’s homeland security and cyberterrorism adviser, to outline the new partnership. According to the U.S. Embassy in Israel, “They discussed creating joint cyber teams to develop [international] cyber policy, protecting crucial infrastructure, research and development and more.”
Speaking at the Cyber Week 2017 conference in Tel Aviv, Bossert said that “these high-level meetings represent the first step in strengthening bilateral ties on cyber issues following President Trump’s visit to Israel [in May].”
Bossert said the new working group will focus on identifying and stopping attacks before they reach critical infrastructure and networks, while also seeking to punish offenders. “The agility Israel has in developing solutions will innovate cyber defenses that we can test here and bring back to America,” he said. “Perfect security may not be achievable, but we have within our reach a safer and more secure internet.”