Israel’s National Cyber Bureau, a government advisory body which recommends national policy in the cyber field and promotes its implementation, will start to prepare Haredim for work at the nation’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) as part of its planned response to the shortage in quality manpower in the field of cyber defense. The plan was introduced by Franco Refael, a senior department head at the National Cyber Bureau, during a meeting of the Knesset Committee on Science and Technology this week.
The committee is chaired by MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism).
“We deal with improving the manpower working for cyber outfits,” Refael told the committee, adding, “We’ve examined the quality of service and of the manpower in Israel’s cyber industry and discovered gaps between various populations. In order to overcome this, we developed a certification process, and starting as early as the 2018 bid, we will require certification for the level of knowledge of people providing service to the government. This way we supervise the quality and as a result we bolster our resilience.”
The Cyber Bureau plans to open two classes for Haredim who wish to enter the field, in B’nei B’rak and Jerusalem, starting June 1, each for 20 students. Study time will be in midday, so as not to hinder Torah study. They will work for the Bureau through manpower contractors.