Key Takeaways:
- Israel needs to bolster its preparedness for a fast-approaching "cyber war" driven by artificial intelligence (AI) agents.
- The country is already experiencing a high volume of cyberattacks, with over 26,000 incidents handled by the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INDC) in 2025.
- The INDC has launched a national multi-year cyber defense plan built on three main strategic pillars: cloud security, cyber AI, and quantum technologies.
- The true impact of quantum technology on the cyber landscape is expected to be profound, opening up new attack surfaces and requiring significant investment in research and development.
- Protecting the AI ecosystem is a major challenge in 2026, as autonomous technologies become increasingly embedded in day-to-day operations.
Introduction to the Cyber War Threat
Cyber defense chief Yossi Karadi has warned that Israel is heading towards a reality where a war will begin and end in the digital domain. This "cyber war" will be driven by artificial intelligence (AI) agents, which will replace the physical battlefield. Karadi, head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INDC), stated that the first cyber war driven by AI agents won’t begin with a siren, but with the disruption of services, decision-making, and daily life. He emphasized that a war where no bullet is fired, no tank moves, no aircraft takes off, and yet a country can be defeated, is a daunting prospect.
The Current State of Cyberattacks in Israel
Karadi disclosed that in 2025, the INDC handled more than 26,000 cyberattacks, a 55% increase over 2024. Israel ranks as the third most attacked country in the world, according to Microsoft’s latest data, with 3.5% of all global cyberattacks directed at Israel over the past year. Most of these attempts were detected and prevented, but the numbers tell us that cyber is no longer supporting the battlefield, cyber is the battlefield. This battlefield will be so fast, many events will begin and end without human visibility, predicted Karadi.
The Role of AI and Deepfakes in Cyber Threats
Sergey Shykevich, head of threat intelligence at Check Point Software Technologies, noted that AI and deepfakes are reshaping the cyber threat landscape, blurring the line between what is real and what is fake. This opens up another arena for attackers to extract sensitive information and data from government entities, healthcare providers, and enterprises. Shykevich stated that in cyber warfare, the vast majority, probably 95% of the activity is Iran-linked, and the goal is to hack and leak information from operations and companies to show Israelis that their government and authorities are not able to protect its citizens.
Israel’s National Cyber Defense Plan
In response to the new reality of emerging threats, Israel has launched a national multi-year cyber defense plan built on three main strategic pillars: cloud security, cyber AI, and quantum technologies. Karadi explained that the transition to the cloud is happening across government, military, industry, and the economy, and the cyber arena is shifting, with the cloud becoming a big attack surface. He emphasized that Israel is already a leading cybersecurity powerhouse, and now the task is to extend that leadership into cyber AI, building AI-based detection, identification, and mitigation capabilities.
The Impact of Quantum Technology on Cybersecurity
The true impact of quantum technology on the cyber landscape is expected to be profound, opening up new attack surfaces and requiring significant investment in research and development. Karadi stated that quantum will reshape the entire cyber landscape, and the role of the INDC is to set the national strategy that will enable capabilities, skills, infrastructures, and strengthen true public-private partnership. He also emphasized the importance of promoting national technological initiatives to connect Israeli technology to national projects.
The Challenge of Protecting the AI Ecosystem
Shykevich emphasized that in 2026, the main challenge is to protect the AI ecosystem as autonomous technologies are increasingly embedded in the day-to-day operations of businesses, governments, and organizations. He noted that AI is a new technology, and everyone is excited, including the attackers, so this year we will face more attacks on the AI ecosystem and the AI surface. The danger is that if we don’t keep up with the speed, and with figuring out what we need to protect in this cat and mouse game, the cat will win. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize the protection of the AI ecosystem to prevent attacks and ensure the security of sensitive information.