Israel is no stranger to cyber warfare; maybe one of the most successful known acts of cyber warfare occurred when Israel shut down Syria’s anti-aircraft radars so Israel’s Air Force could fly undetected to destroy a suspected Syrian nuclear site in 2007. In February 2010 the Israeli Intelligence Directorate published a paper highlighting the necessity of cyber capabilities to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The paper also realized the importance of cyber defense centers set up in the United States and the UK.^[152]

In June 2010, word was released that Israel had begun setting up a cyber warfare unit, but with a twist—the unit was using the same recruiting methods that the IDF uses for Israeli commando units. These teams are dispatched to target countries, where they not only act as a covert commando unit, but also launch cyber attacks from inside that country. The unit is structured under the military intelligence department.^[153] This goes along with the Israeli strategy that cyber warfare is an alternate means to conventional warfare, one that can be employed much more often because of the lack of formal consequences.^[154]