IDF Unit 8200 commander reveals cyber use to target Hamas commander

IDF Unit 8200 Data Science and AI Commander Col. Yoav on Monday revealed that his unit used its cyber tools during the May 2021 Gaza War to successfully target at least two Hamas commanders.

According to Yoav, who was speaking at the AI Conference at Tel Aviv University, the IDF was able to target at least one of the Hamas squad missile commanders and one of the Hamas anti-tank missile units using data science and AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities.

In all, he said new digital methods “helped produce 200 new target assets” during the 10-day operation.

“Remember breaking the human barrier – there were times when this took us almost a year,” he said.

“How do we do it? We take original subgroups, calculate their close circle [of personal connections], calculate relevant features, rank results and determine thresholds, use intelligence officers’ feedback to improve the algorithm,” and then use classified digital platforms to locate the targets.

The beginning of digital warfare

He said that the May 2021 Gaza War was “referred to as the first digital war. Indeed, there were some major advancements. Our platforms go crazy with a lot of edge cases during wartime. This takes its toll with operational continuity of the systems. But we managed to maintain high standards. We managed to update our systems 150 times in 10 days.”

According to Yoav, the IDF was able to target at least one of the Hamas squad missile commanders and one of the Hamas anti-tank missile units using data science and AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities.