All language subtitles for cyberwar.s01e12.720p.hdtv.x264-w4f_Track02

BEN: A small country
with many enemies.

We are really, really
threatened by other countries,

and we need to find innovative
ways how to defend ourselves.

Israel builds its cyber arsenal.

We intend to be

one of the five leading
cyber powers in the world.

But how are they
using their power?

We need to decrypt the
Iranian code because

they are threatening us
with nuclear weapons.

What's the cost
of that strength?

Israelis did not
only occupy the land,

they occupied the sky
also and the air around us.

♪

Spring of 2015.

A cyber security company
discovers a piece of spyware

targeting three hotels in
Switzerland and Austria.

All three of those hotels were
hosting high level negotiations

on the future of
Iran's nuclear program.

The malware, called Duqu 2.0,
was really versatile.

It could do anything from
tapping phone lines to operating

two-way mics in hotel elevators,
computers, and alarm systems.

Duqu could theoretically
spy on the Iranians,

but also on the Americans and
their negotiating partners.

There are enemies
to these talks,

and they will do
whatever they can.

It's almost impossible
to conclusively identify

who created Duqu,
but fingers immediately

started pointing at Israel,

a country with both
the motive and the means.

I flew to Washington
to meet Adam Entous,

the Wall Street Journal reporter
who first broke the Duqu story.

You broke some stories that the
Israelis were not only spying

on the US during
these negotiations,

but they were also feeding
information to Congress.

How'd you verify that?

So what happened was is that

we were monitoring Israeli
communications very closely.

The US was sharing some
details with the Israelis

about the ongoing negotiations,

but we weren't
telling them everything.

But we started seeing
in references to details

from the negotiations
that the White House knew

they were not providing
to the Israelis.

Bottom line is is that the
experts that analyzed it

and current and former
US officials who also have

taken a look believe that
Duqu 2.0 is an espionage tool

that's used by Israel for
it's biggest spying operations.

Given the fact that the US
spends so much money in support

of Israel's military and
its intelligence services,

that Israel is so aggressive at
spying against the United States

does upset, you know,
counter-intelligence officials

in the United States
because they feel like

they should be focused
on other things.

And the money the US government
gives to Israel is substantial.

Since the creation
of the state in 1948,

the Americans have handed over
more than $120 billion in aid,

most of it in the form
of military assistance.

But military aid alone doesn't
explain Israel's emergence

as a global cyber super power.

So how does a small country like
Israel become such a big player

in cyber warfare?

And if the Israeli government
is spying on the United States,

its closest ally and
its biggest financier,

what does it say about
the country's agenda?

Ronen Bergman is an
investigative journalist

and a senior political
and military analyst for

one of Israel's largest
circulation daily newspapers.

- Ben, hi.
- Nice to meet you.

Pleasure to meet you,
welcome, welcome to Israel.

I met him at his home
outside of Tel Aviv.

What do you make of something
like Duqu 2.0 that was malware

that was targeting specific
diplomatic discussions,

and it seemed to benefit one
country and its interests.

Do you think the
Israelis did it?

Look, I'm not dealing directly
with Israeli intelligence

on the USA, 'cause otherwise
this gonna be my last interview,

or our next meeting will be...

I would say with
some sort of bars or...

or glass between us.

Ronen Bergman wouldn't
give me a straight answer

when it came to Duqu
or spying on Americans.

But if the malware
actually was Israeli,

many people believe it
came out of the military's

signals intelligence
branch, Unit 8200.

Military service is
compulsory for most Israelis,

and Unit 8200 gets its
pick of potential recruits.

But why is it that the Israelis
are so good at cyber security?

Well, I think it
started a long time ago.

If you are the
military intelligence,

from very early point they
got the permission to select

from the, you know, thousands
and thousands of teens,

and you offer them to
play a very unique game.

A game that they can
play only in Israel,

only in military intelligence,
they won't be able to play

any other place in the world.

The game is this: you get
at least three years

of innovation summer camp,

continuous innovation
summer camp,

to come up with a solution
that would save the country.

The deployment of your solution
could be very quick because we

need to decrypt the Iranian code
because they are threatening us

with nuclear weapon, or the
possibility of nuclear weapon.

We need to hack into the
computer of that jihadist

because he's planning
the next suicide bombing.

That's a great responsibility.

And you get as young as 18
or 19 years old to deal with

the most exciting stuff
that anyone can deal with:

espionage.

Is there ever a thought within
Israeli society that all this

innovation is coming from a
game played by these kids that's

actually pretty lethal and
has real world implications?

These innovations are
coming out of wars.

This innovation
saved the country.

I will say it again:

the innovation of these
young kids saved Israel.

I wanted to meet
some of the kids

destined for the cyber units
of Israel's armed forces.

After turning 18,
most Israelis are obliged

to serve in the military
for 2 to 3 years.

Many teenagers hope
to join Unit 8200,

the signals intelligence branch,
and the largest single

military unit in the
Israeli Defense Forces.

But they don't actually get to
choose where they're drafted.

In 2013, the Ministry
of Defense helped create

a national program for
promising high school students

aiming to be future
cyber warriors.

There are 10 high schools
offering this program

across the country,

and Amal Lady Davis High
School is one of the them.

Toby Stupp has been teaching
here for the past 10 years.

- Hello.
- Hi!

- Nice to meet you.
- Welcome!

Thank you. Is this Hacking 101?

Well, actually we're not
really teaching them hacking,

because we don't want to
emphasize how to steal things

or how to break into things.

That's not what we're into.

- So more defensive stuff?
- It's more defensive.

Many of the students I spoke
to were aiming to get into

Unit 8200, or Talpiot,
an elite program

with the IDF's research
and development arm.

And it's not just because they
want to serve their country.

What they learn in the military
can also set them up for

a pretty baller career after
their service is all done.

Yair Ben Shimol and
Jonatan Wallenstein

are students in
the cyber program.

Why'd you do this class?

To benefit us in the army.

So something like Unit 8200.

- Hmm?
- Unit 8200.

Yes, 8200.

Is that something
that people wanna do?

I'm aiming more for
like another program.

It's called Talpiot,
which is pretty much

the elite of the elite.

And if you get there,
you're pretty much

set up for your life.

Just go to a walk-in place
and say, "I was Talpiot,"

throwing your money about it.

- Start making it rain.
- Yeah, making it rain.

- Everybody wants you.
- Girls, money...

- Girls, money, cars.
- Cars.

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

(Laughing)

I don't know if hackers
are... get all that.

BEN: With fresh recruits every
year and an annual turnover

of 25%, Unit 8200,
the Israeli Military's

signals intelligence branch,
is like a revolving door.

Many former soldiers
come out of the unit

and head straight for private
cyber security companies.

Well, it's brand new.

I'm in Tel Aviv to
meet with Nadav Zafrir.

He's a former
commander of Unit 8200.

Today, he's the CEO of Team 8,
a multi-million dollar

private cyber security
company in Tel Aviv.

We are a nation
of entrepreneurs.

And so the high tech scene
here has been booming

for many years already.

We've also been able
to create innovation,

creativity, and talent creation
through the military service,

which used to be a burden on
our economy but lately is almost

becoming a part of the
strength of our economy.

And you know, it's no
secret you were in Unit 8200.

'Cause it's funny, we've been
talking to a lot of these kids,

and they're not wanting
to be Israeli Rambo.

Like they want to be in
Unit 8200, it's this thing.

Yeah, 'cause it's almost
a mixture between going to

an Ivy League university
and doing your internship

all at once, while you're
serving your country.

They come with
all their naivety,

with all their faith
in what they're doing,

with all their motivation,
and together they create

something which
is truly exceptional.

They may come in with
naivety and faith,

but they don't all
leave that way.

In 2014, 43 reserve soldiers
wrote an open letter

to the Israeli prime minister

criticizing some of Unit 8200's
surveillance practices.

The covert SIGINT unit targets
so-called enemies of the state

outside the country.

But Palestinians in the occupied
territories are also surveilled,

even if they haven't been
identified as a threat.

In their letter,
the reservists said

they refused to take part in
actions against Palestinians

if they were called back
to active duty.

Israel's defense minister
denounced them as criminals.

Gilad, who asked we
not use his last name

and not reveal his face,
signed the letter

and served in the
top secret Unit 8200.

So were there any restrictions
given to operators on

who they could target
and who they couldn't?

Part of the letter talks about
the fact that you would use some

of this intelligence to turn
Palestinians against each other.

So let's say if you're a
homosexual and you're involved

with Hamas, and you don't
want that to come out...

Gilad regrets his role
in the surveillance

of Palestinian civilians.

But what's it like to be on the
other side of that surveillance?

BEN: The Israeli military is
well-known around the world

for its cyber
surveillance capabilities.

Closer to home,
Palestinians are all too aware

of the country's power.

Residents of the
occupied territories

may use local
telecommunications companies

like Paltel for their
phones and internet,

but the system relies on
Israeli infrastructure.

Israelis did not
only occupy the land,

they occupied the sky
also and the air around us.

Safa Nasser Eldin is a former
Minister of Telecommunications

and IT in the
Palestinian Authority,

which governs the West Bank.

I met her at a
hotel in Jerusalem.

How do you compare Palestinian
Authority cyber security

versus Israeli government?

I don't think that
we can compare it,

because we are
new to this field.

We created the
government network in 2010,

and we took it from Paltel.

So it was a network of...
a Paltel network where

parts of it is
leased from Israel.

So it was always like open to

Israeli measures
or any security.

So does every average
Palestinian just accept that

every email, text message,
can or could be intercepted

and read by Israeli
intelligence?

They don't accept, but
they know that it happens.

We are occupied, we cannot
do anything about it.

Since all communications
systems in the West Bank

route through Israel,
it's hard for Palestinians

to escape Israeli surveillance.

But some people are
trying to change that.

I went to Ramallah to meet
Hanna Kreitem and Samer Shawar.

They're cofounders of a
Palestinian hacker space

called Vecbox.

This is a bunker practically.

Yes, a kind of bunker.

Instead of a bunker
it's a hackspace.

What we did, as part of
a project is establishing

an intersection point to allow
exchange of information

to stay local, without
having to go through Israel

and then through
other operators.

So you think that all of
the internet essentially

in the West Bank and Ramallah
is being clearly creeped on?

Yes.

And why... why is that?

Why do you think that?

We have the PA and Israel
both who would like to...

to know what's going on.

And Israel uses the
excuse of security.

So you also said that it's not
just the Israelis spying on you,

it's the PA.

We... We have some
concerns about that,

and we think that they do, yes.

So it might not be
just the Israelis

who are monitoring Palestinians.

Many believe the
Palestinian Authority

also uses Israeli technology to
keep an eye on its population.

But when it comes to cyber
security, Israel's influence

extends well beyond the
territory it occupies.

In 2015, its
cyber security exports

totalled around $4 billion.

But what does all this
cyber success mean

for Israel's economy?

I'm in Tel Aviv for CyberTech.

It's an annual conference
serving as a showcase

for Israel's cyber
security companies.

Israel's overall economy
is one of the strongest in

the Middle East, and the cyber
security sector is booming.

And some consider the
IDF's Unit 8200 to be

Israel's internal R&D hub.

Consider this: its alumni
are said to have founded

more than a thousand companies.

I stopped at a booth where a
tech company called Cyberbit

was selling its
battle-tested products,

which are used for both
security and surveillance.

(Chattering)

And its key technology
was developed by veterans

of Unit 8200.

Adi Dar is the CEO of Cyberbit.

Who are you selling
to internationally?

We are selling in North
America, we are selling in Asia,

we are selling in Europe a lot,
and of course in Israel.

I can say that basically
we have customers from

all the different sectors:
financial sector, utilities,

health care,
governments of course...

So law enforcement as well?

Yeah, of course, of course.

Law enforcement is one
significant part of what we do.

Cyberbit sells a
product called PSS,

which stands for PC
Surveillance System.

It's a suite of tools that
infects computer with malware

in order to gather intelligence.

Why don't you tell me
about the PSS system.

Basically it's the
opposite of what we do in

the cyber security arena, okay?

In the cyber security, we are
trying to find those hackers,

to find those Trojan Horses, and
in the cyber intelligence part

we are using Trojans in
order to collect information.

So offensive and
defensive technologies.

But CyberTech isn't just a
platform for private companies.

The conference is also
a place where Israel

and its Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, can show off

the country's cyber strength
to the rest of the world.

One of the first conferences
that we held here,

I said that we intend to be

one of the five leading
cyber powers in the world.

And I think we've achieved
that, but I don't think

we should be #5 or #4,
and I don't think we are.

BEN: Be'er Sheva is
at the northern edge

of Israel's Negev desert.

Once a quiet town,
it's now a thriving city

at the heart of
Israel's cyber boom.

The Prime Minister wants Israel
to remain one of the world's

cyber super powers, and
that means bringing together

the expertise of
academics, the armed forces,

and private business.

That's something the
government is investing in.

Soon a new tech park will
actually share office space

with units of the
Israeli military.

This might be where the
next Duqu is created.

Yuval Elovici is the director of

the Cyber Security Research
Centre at Ben-Gurion University.

And in this lab we have the
people working on malware.

So this is our malware lab.

What kind of malware
are they working on?

Both on mobile and on PC.

So why don't you show me

how you can activate
malware with a laser.

It's our assumption in this type
of attack that there is already

a malware inside the
organization, and the malware

has an access to a scanner
inside the organization.

Now, if the attacker will
communicate with the malware

via the internet,
it may be intercepted

by various different mechanisms.

So here we came up with a
totally different concept,

and the idea was to use a laser.

So now here you can see
we set up the software,

and then we can just
press one button.

The scanner is scanning,
receiving the message.

And you know, even if there
is not a line of sight,

it's no problem.

As you can see,
it's very light to put

all the attack
platform on a drone.

That's crazy.

(Laughing)

Israel's a small country,
and yet it's connected to

some of the most
sophisticated malware ever.

We are really, really
threatened by other countries,

and we need to find innovative
ways how to defend ourselves.

And you know, for me, sometimes
I am very, very frustrated

when I know that somebody
is waking up in the morning,

and his main goal in life is
just to try to damage us.

We are very, very lucky that
cyber help us to be secured.

Israel's success in cyber
security comes out of

the collaboration
between the school system,

the military, and
the private sector.

The Israeli dream in old times
was to be a general in the army.

The dream today, the Israeli
dream of every Jewish mother

is for her son not to be a
pilot, not to be a physician,

but to go to 8200, serve
for few years, then retire,

open a start-up,
and then sell it

for hundreds of
millions of dollars.

But not all Israelis are
comfortable with the role that

Unit 8200 is playing
in Israel's economy.

And it's not just
a domestic issue.

Israel's reported surveillance
of the Iranian nuclear talks

was also a thorn in the side
of American officials.

And the irony is of course
that the US helped the Israelis

develop the capability of spying
on the Iranians the way they do.

So for some people within the US
intelligence agency, this was

not a happy moment when they
realized or they concluded

that the Israelis were using
American capability to spy on

American negotiations and
diplomacy with the Iranians.

And while they have this healthy
respect for the Israelis,

you know, for a foreign
government to be doing that

was for the Americans
a bridge too far.

The economic perks of Israel's
cyber security expertise

are obvious across the country.

But those capabilities
are designed to support

a very unique security agenda.

An agenda that can include
spying on everyone from friends

and allies to even innocent
and vulnerable civilians.

♪