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A man undergoing cyber warfare training in Israel (2019)
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Ronen Zvulun / REUTERS
The identity of the commander of the Israeli cyber unit Unit 8200 has long been a closely guarded secret. He heads one of the most powerful surveillance agencies in the world and is the head of the state's elite hackers. But after more than two decades of operating in secret, the British Guardian has now revealed how the controversial spy chief, Yossi Sariel, involuntarily revealed his identity online.
Sariel published a book in 2021 under the pseudonym “Brigadier General YS”, which, however, could be traced back to him. The book left a trace to a private Google account through an anonymous email address, which was created under Sariel's name and was clearly traceable to him through his private Google ID.
Multiple sources confirmed to The Guardian that Sariel is the secret author of the book "The Human Machine Team," in which he presents a radical vision for how artificial intelligence can transform how military personnel and machines work together. The book is a blueprint for the advanced AI-powered systems used by the Israel Defense Forces in the war in Gaza.
Sariel still under pressure
An Israeli military spokesman told the Guardian that the email address was not Sariel's personal one, but was "specifically intended for questions related to the book itself." However, this still opened up an embarrassing security gap.
Sariel is likely to be put under further pressure by this mistake. He and his Unit 8200 were criticized for failing to predict and prevent Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed nearly 1,140 people and kidnapped 240 others.
Since this attack, there have been accusations that conventional intelligence methods are safer than Unit 8200's new technologies. (Read more about the technologies of the Unit 8200 here.)
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