Oren Rozenblat spoke to the Lusa news agency on the sidelines of the Cybersecurity Conference organized by the Israeli Embassy in Lisbon. The event, which aimed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in combating cybercrime, saw participation from 12 companies in the sector and over two dozen companies and official entities.
“I think the main cause was our fault. Sometimes, we think that we hold values similar to Europeans or Portuguese,” stated the Israeli diplomat. “We think that what is most important for us is education, health, and the economy, to help our children have a better life. And we assume other nations think the same.”
He continued, “But there is an organization like Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip. They do not see it that way. They believe there are things more important than helping their children, more important than the economy. For them, the most important thing is to kill Israelis.”
Rozenblat acknowledged that Israel was “caught asleep” during the Hamas attacks, which resulted in at least 1,200 deaths and the abduction of around 250 Israelis.
“And we were asleep, particularly in our assumption that others would think like us. They, however, have extreme religious principles. Sacrificing their lives to destroy Israel is more important than the children. That was our mistake,” he admitted.
Linking the subject of war to information technologies, the Israeli ambassador in Lisbon highlighted technological advancements that allowed a “surgical” attack using pagers directed at leaders not only of Hamas in Gaza but also of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It happened only with pagers. I believe this is an example of innovative ways of waging wars. It was a very specific operation against the leaders and agents of Hezbollah organizations,” he emphasized.
“We were able to attack them with precision, with no harm to those who were not terrorists. This was a huge success and contributed to our victory against Hezbollah and meant that Lebanon is now free from Hezbollah’s dictatorship. Syria is also free from the regime of [former President, Bashar] al-Assad, and all this is due to such innovation,” he asserted.
Rozenblat stated that Israel is “always threatened” by cyberattacks.
“We have our enemies, and they are trying to target us. This is why we must always be ready to develop the right software to block these attacks, which has led to our success in the field of cybersecurity,” he explained.
The Israeli ambassador to Lisbon stressed that it is not a “new era” in times of war, as it has existed for decades. This is why Israel invests in innovation and technological development, areas in which the nation excels.
According to Rozenblat, cyberattacks can completely stop operational systems, such as those associated with health, energy, or telecommunications.
“I am not an expert on the cybersecurity situation in Portugal. We are trying to build a cooperation to learn from each other. I met many of the managers of major infrastructure companies in Portugal before the event to understand the situation in the country. I was impressed by the high level of these companies, by their high level of preparation for cybersecurity. However, as always, improvements are necessary,” he added.
Lusa attempted to speak with the head of the National Cyber Security Center (CNCS), but Lino Santos declined to comment on the conference involving a dozen Israeli sector companies and more than two dozen Portuguese state and private companies.
The list of Portuguese companies and entities present at the conference, the location of which was provided only upon registration, included prominent names such as ANA – Airports, CTT, REN, EDP, E-Redes, Águas de Portugal (AdP), Galp, Jerónimo Martins, Metropolitano, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP), and the Navy.
