Israel Government Appoints General Gaby Portnoy As New Cyber Security Chief

Gaby Portnoy, Israel's new Head of Cybersecurity. (Photo: EnVison Medical/www.gov.il)

JAKARTA - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the appointment of retired military intelligence general Gaby Portnoy to head the country's National Cyber Directorate, the Prime Minister's Office said as reported by Antara.

Portnoy will replace Yigal Unna, who stepped down last month, as cybersecurity chief.

The Cyber Directorate is the main body tasked with safeguarding Israel's cyberspace and advancing its cyber power building. The agency works to strengthen the protection of organizations and citizens in the face of cyber attacks and in preparing for emergencies.

Israeli government and corporate websites face thousands of attacks every day but are mostly thwarted.

Portnoy, 52, is chief operating officer of high-tech company EnVizon Medical.

Prior to that, he spent 31 years in the armed forces, serving in senior positions including chief of operations for the Intelligence Corps, who retired to the rank of brigadier general.

Israel's cyber sector is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, raising $8.8 billion in 2021, a threefold increase from its value in 2020. Another 40 Israeli cyber companies were bought by foreign companies. with a total of 3.5 billion dollars (Rp 50.2 trillion), while Israel's cyber exports reached 11 billion US dollars (Rp 158 trillion) in 2021.

The directorate said 40 percent of private global investment in the cybersecurity funding round was in Israel.