Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday that there would be no meddling in the upcoming Knesset election after state censors suppressed a speech by the head of the Shin Bet security agency accusing a foreign power of planning to hack the vote.
Under the gag order described as a security precaution, media outlets in Israel were barred from naming the country that Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, addressing a by-invitation audience at Tel Aviv University on Monday, said was trying to interfere in the elections.
Newspaper commentators speculated that he had pointed the finger at Russia, which Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said last month could potentially want to replicate in Israel an alleged online influence campaign aimed at helping Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential elections in 2016.
Russia has denied any such interference. Netanyahu, asked by reporters about the Argaman flap, offered a general reassurance.
"Israel is braced to foil cyber interference. We are ready for any scenario. There is no country better prepared than us," he said.
The censor's edict, newspaper commentators said, appeared to be an attempt to avoid friction with Russia, the main backer of Syria, where Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on suspected Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah targets.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Russia has not interfered, does not interfere and doesn't intend to interfere in any election in any country in the world."
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel National Cyber Directorate were working to assist the Central Elections Committee on the matter. Orly Adas, the director general of the Central Elections Committee said, "The voting and ballot-counting process in Israel is done manually. The processes are independent, supervised and largely not computerized. As a result, the possibility of harming them is not high. In a few areas where there is computerization, and a cyber defense effort is needed, the committee is assisted by various security organizations and experts acting on its behalf to prepare accordingly."
As part of the preparations ahead of the April 9 elections Adas and Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Hanan Meltzer met with policy director at Facebook Israel Jordana Kotler to discuss expected challenges to the election campaign on social media and the measures Facebook is taking to preserve fair elections and the secure use of its platform. Members of the committee said that "together with security officials, we learned about what has transpired in other countries, and we are putting together an action plan that will include, among other things, increased awareness among the various bodies involved in the election campaign."
There have been dozens of attempted cyberattacks on Israel's security and civil infrastructure over the past year. Both the Mossad intelligence unit and the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate have bodies tasked with cyber defense and warfare. While a non-security organization is tasked with its own cyber defense, the security system will assist or guide bodies responsible for national infrastructure where necessary and is prepared to provide assistance should Israel's enemies succeed in attacking the national electric or water grid.
The IDF Chief of General Staff's Cyber-Communications and Defense Division is responsible for protecting networks, while the Intelligence Directorate is responsible for cyberattacks and gathering intelligence in the field.
