Spain denies the invitation of an Israeli delegation to its national cybersecurity congress

Will there be senior Israeli cybersecurity officials in Spain next week? The possible presence of a delegation of technology companies from the country, closely linked to the mass surveillance of the Palestinian population and the military operations of the Israeli army, has clouded the celebration of the annual congress of the National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe), whose eighteenth edition begins next week.

Several civil society groups have denounced the invitation to the event by Israeli advisors and have called for a demonstration of rejection for next Tuesday in front of the organization’s headquarters in León, while Sumar has presented a battery of questions to the Government regarding this issue. . However, official sources from Incibe, which appeared this Friday with painted on its facadethey deny to elDiario.es that such an invitation has occurred, as well as the presence of advisors from the Hebrew country at the conference. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, the political person responsible for the organization, supports this version.

“At no time has there been an invitation on our part for them to serve as speakers,” says Incibe, which does recognize, however, that several cybersecurity experts from Israeli companies “had registered as attendees at a business forum.” parallel to the event. “These people had expressed their intention to attend the forum, but as of today they have not completed their registration and we can confirm that they are not going to attend, because they are not registered,” say the same sources.

The official Incibe website states that the forum is “a unique opportunity to connect with business leaders, CISOs [jefes de seguridad, por sus siglas en inglés] international and industry professionals from more than 15 countries.” A place to “close meetings” with the representatives of those countries, among which was a delegation from Israel that ultimately will not attend, the organization maintains.

Incibe had created profiles of these businessmen on its official website, with a version in Spanish and English, as this medium has been able to verify. These profiles have been indexed by Google and appear when searching for their names along with the term “Incibe”, but the organization has blocked them. When you access them, your page displays an “access denied” notice. The same thing happens with the description of the Israeli delegation.

This is the case, for example, with the profile of Assaf Marco, who rose to the rank of major in the Israeli army before founding a cybersecurity company called I Plus Cyber. Marco had already written a presentation about his participation in the International Information Security Meeting (Enise), as the Incibe congress is called. “Our goal for 18ENISE is to explore collaboration opportunities with Spanish companies to work together and provide companies and communities with proactive visibility on emerging threats in Spain and around the world,” he explained.

Incibe and the Ministry of Digital Transformation deny to elDiario.es that this organization or the Government have rejected the assistance of the Israeli advisors who had registered to participate in Enise. They claim that it was these people who have not “completed their registration” and decided not to attend. As this media has been able to verify, there were at least five executives from Israeli companies who already had a profile created on the organization’s website.

“Tested in combat”: the technological leg of the genocide

Technological capabilities represent one of the most important weapons of the Israeli army. Many of these tools are developed and perfected by companies that collaborate or arise directly from the military environment. For example, Israel has used drones, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity technologies in its operations in Gaza, which have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

Already before the current Israeli offensive on the Strip, Israeli technology companies turned the occupied Palestinian territories into a testing ground for their military and espionage systems, which they then market globally. These technologies, developed and perfected in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, were promoted as “tested in combat”. This practice has intensified with the open conflict: “Many companies promote military material that the Army is testing in Gaza,” warn experts who have worked on the ground.

The supposed invitation of a delegation of these companies to Enise had generated rejection from civil society organizations. The University Assembly for Palestine in León, the No to War No to NATO Coordinator, Agora País Llioneses, FdE, the Student Union, CC OO and CGT, Izquierda Unida, the Communist Party of Spain, the Union of Communist Youth, The Communist Workers Party, the Young Communists Collective and RAM have called a demonstration for next Tuesday.

“The objective is to consolidate and promote the historic collaboration between civil and business society between the technological sectors of both countries, through synergies and strategic alliances between Spanish and Israeli companies, open to university and technological centers. There was also agreement on the interest in promoting collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences in different cybersecurity solutions, where Israel is recognized worldwide for its leadership and innovation,” the institution itself abounded.