Israel’s Cyber Chief Warns: AI Could Rapidly Accelerate Cyberattacks

The head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, Yossi Karadi, convened a conference today (Thursday) for senior figures in Israel’s cybersecurity industry, against the backdrop of advances in artificial intelligence’s ability to carry out autonomous attacks.

At the meeting, Karadi outlined preparations for the coming years and warned of the rapid change in the nature of the threat. In his words, “Since June 2025, Israel has been dealing with an ongoing campaign in cyberspace, but during this period there has been no damage to the country’s critical infrastructure. There are no ceasefires in cyber. Even on the final day of Operation Roaring Lion, the volume of attacks doubled.”

The directorate chief announced the establishment of a “special national intervention unit,” which will be activated in the event of a cyber incident on a national scale. In addition, plans are underway to establish a multidisciplinary national laboratory that will connect government, industry, and academia and focus on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and quantum technology.

The directorate notes that artificial intelligence capabilities make it possible to independently carry out a significant portion of an attack. AI tools were able to complete 28 of the 32 stages examined as part of an advanced attack process without intervention.

“The attacker is already operating at machine speed,” Karadi warned. According to him, “The technological shift also requires a change in how defense agencies operate. Israel’s advantage must be in speed, synergy, and the ability to connect the state and industry in real time.”

Karadi stressed that dealing with a large-scale incident will require cooperation beyond state bodies. “No single body can defend the State of Israel on its own, and in a national incident, we will need the entire industry at our side.”