Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
Shin Bet hunting for IT talent
Shin Bet launches new recruitment campaign aimed at IT whips 'to foil terror attacks'
The Shin Bet security service is seeking IT experts to assist in the war against terror.
An advertising campaign was launched on Tuesday under the title 'Needed: High Tech People to Foil Attacks'.
The statement issued by the Shin Bet read: "In the frame of a unique recruitment campaign the Shin Bet is turning to software developers with experience in JAVA, and Dot Net who have experienced the private sector …and who feel the time has come to be part of a small and qualitative team … part of an operational system that is tested on a daily bases for saving lives."
The Shin Bet launched the initiative in an effort to seek new means of fighting terror. A publicity campaign will be launched on Web sites in Israel and abroad. Yossi Verdi, a leading High-Tech expert in Israel, will manage the media campaign.
"It is about a collection of skills and capabilities that can transform the fiction we see in movies into a daily reality," Verdi said.
In addition to the publicity campaign, the Shin Bet will send letters signed by the agency's chief Yuval Diskin to potential candidates such as graduates of the army's technological units and people with experience in the public sector.
Saving lives
"In the course of last month the Shin Bet thwarted over 25 attacks and brought about the arrest of 17 potential suicide bombers," Diskin wrote in the letter. "From my experience, I know that the majority of the public is unaware that the successes of the war on terror … are based on an assassination system which incorporates advanced information systems whose language is not only Arabic … languages like JAVA and Dot Net are among the leading operational tools in the Shin Bet."The campaign will last a few weeks during which the Shin Bet hopes to assemble a small team of systems engineers.
"It is a common belief that the war between Israel and terror groups is mainly conducted in the form of operational activities. But many of the same undercover people in the Shin Bet, are systems engineers and IT infrastructure and communication people, who greatly contribute to the various missions of the service," the Shin Bet said.
The Shin Bet has been secretly developing unique IT systems to enhance its operations for over 10 years. Tuesday's campaign marks the first time the agency admits to its reliance of high technologies.
"Our technological challenge is not a start-up company waiting for an opportunity. Beyond dealing with the most advance technologies, each development team is an integral part of an operational system that is judged on a daily bases by its record in saving lives. It is a technology with a real objective," the agency said.
Interested applicants can send CVs by email through the agency's Web site: www.shabak.gov.il/it
