http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ramps-up-cyber-defense-with-new-national-body/ By David Shamah The Times of Israel September 21, 2014 Israel is stepping up its cyber-defense efforts. The government on Sunday announced establishment of a new cyber-defense authority to coordinate cyber-security efforts among government, industry, and the civilian sectors. Just last year, it set up the National Cyber Bureau and the two steps show that the nation is taking cyber threats seriously, now that it’s a favorite target for politically motivated hackers Heading the new effort will be the National Cyber Bureau head, Dr. Eviatar Matania, who will be given “the authority to defend the civilian sphere from cyber threats and will constitute an operative agency that will act alongside the National Cyber Bureau, which will continue to build and maintain the State of Israel’s national strength as an international leader in the field,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. Experts say Israel is the target of almost daily attacks, especially denial of service (DDOS), in which hackers try to flood a site with messages to paralyze it. Israeli cyber-security arms have been so effective in blocking the attacks that most never even cross the threshold of public awareness. Such attacks multiplied during the summer war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, but none caused significant damage. The announcement of the new body comes just a week after a major international event on cyber-security, sponsored by Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Research Center (ICRC). Dozens of cyber-security officials and experts gathered to discuss the latest on-line threats and how to defend against them. […]