Senior security officials oppose establishment of cyber bureau
In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff and Director General of the Ministry of Defense all oppose the proposed National Cyber Bureau as a violation of Israeli national security concerns.
The report contends that the head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, the head of Shin Bet, Nadav Argaman, Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan and the Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Udi Adam, penned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Security Cabinet a letter where they claimed that the bill authorizing the bureau constitutes a serious violation of the core security concern of the State of Israel.
The report also said that after Netanyahu announced the establishment of the NCB and its annual budget of NIS 200 million, the prime minister promised the heads of the security establishment coordination on the issue.
However, after receiving the details of the proposed law, the members of the security and intelligence community announced that they were opposed to the move.
The four signatories demanded that the legislation be stopped immediately and that a law be enacted that would meet Israel's national security needs.