Israeli students with Images of Israeli hostages held in Gaza (Israel Ministry of Education)
It seems that every day more information is revealed about the failures of the Israeli security establishment in the days before the October 7 Hamas terror massacre. In yet another report on the matter, Israel’s Chanel 12 Television News revealed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) vaunted cybersecurity Unit 8200 failed to live up to its reputation in the lead up to the attack. Specifically, insiders placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the unit’s commander, Brigadier General Yossi Sariel, saying that he failed to act on warnings of an impending attack.
Channel 12 quoted a “former senior military intelligence official” who said, “We established a joint team of the Shin Bet, 8200 and the Gaza Division and built a warning model, according to which if a number of elements materialize, for us it is a sign that Hamas is about to invade.”
“One element is related to the terrorists themselves, a second element is related to the time and a third element is related to the location,” he added. “We invested tremendous listening efforts. As soon as we recognized that things were happening, we raised the flag.”
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“During the time of the former commander of 8200, we polished and cleaned this system,” a former senior IDF intelligence officer told Channel 12. “People maintained it 24/7 and there were few malfunctions. Most of the time it produced the information. But at Yossi’s they neglected it. Most of the time it didn’t work and they didn’t care.”
More than 1,200 people were murdered during the October 7 attack. Many, including children, were burned alive. Hundreds were taken to Gaza as hostages. More than one hundred are still believed to be held there; however, Hamas has not given proof of life for the hostages it holds.
Unit 8200 is a highly secretive and elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), specifically within the Israeli Intelligence Corps. It is often compared to the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) due to its focus on signals intelligence (SIGINT) and cybersecurity. Unit 8200 is responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption. It is involved in intelligence gathering, cryptanalysis, and cybersecurity operations.
Since the October 7 massacre, there have been numerous recriminations as to who should take the blame for the failures to prevent it.
It is one of the largest units in the IDF, with thousands of soldiers. The unit recruits heavily from high schools, targeting students with strong analytical and problem-solving skills and Unit 8200 is known for its advanced technological capabilities and has been credited with developing sophisticated cyber tools and techniques.
It also deserves much of the credit for the recent advances made by Israel Startup Nation as many former members of Unit 8200 have gone on to found successful tech start-ups, leading some to refer to it as Israel’s unofficial tech incubator. It is often as a training ground for Israel’s tech industry, with many companies actively seeking to hire its veterans.
