The Israel National Cyber Directorate announced that the country's cyber companies will be able to continue operating normally in order to protect the market from threats. It emphasized that the recent increase of remote work raises the importance of defending cyber infrastructure in Israel
The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) said March 23 that although the operations of many local companies have been suspended because of the coronavirus crisis, cyber firms will be allowed to continue operating. In a press release, the directorate noted that the importance of cyber defense is increasing as many employees are working remotely.
"In order to protect the Israeli market from cyberattacks at this time, the operations of cyber defense companies have been permitted. The importance of cyber defense has grown in light of the shift to remote work, the increasing dependence on digital services, and the importance of reliable and immediate access to data," the directorate said.
There have been many attempts to use the panic over the coronavirus pandemic to carry out phishing, denial of service, ransomware and other attacks on hospitals, national laboratories, governments and citizens, the INCD added.
"Cyber attackers are using this sensitive time to carry out attacks that could place an additional burden on the functioning of the economy, and thus it is increasingly important to maintain the existing defense capabilities of organizations, and even to increase them," said Yigal Unna, director general of the INCD.
