Between Facebook, Instagram, and many other popular apps, our generation is hooked on technology. The IDF has become increasingly technology-oriented as well to combat the newest threat: cyberwarfare.
As Brigadier General Danny Bren explains, Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip, was the world’s first significant technological war experience. Brig. Gen. Danny Bren served as the commander of the Lotem Unit, the IDF C4I Directorate which technologically combats the enemy. C4I refers to a joint command & control unit which combines communications and cyber defense in order to support the completion of military missions.
In January, CAMERA-supported group MIT Friends of Israel hosted Brig. Gen. Bren for a special dinner event at the MIT campus, featuring him as their speaker. The event was open to all and also attracted students from Brandeis, Harvard, and Northeastern.
Following Brig. Gen. Bren’s lecture, “Cyber Attacks – The Current and Next Generation of Defense, A Technical Briefing,” Dr. Michael Sulmeyer, the director of the Cyber Security Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard, also spoke.
Before working at Harvard University, Michael Sulmeyer was a Pentagon official. Between the expertise of the IDF Brig. Gen. Bren and of Michal Sulmeyer, the event was very dynamic and piqued the audience’s interest. Students asked many questions, eager to learn more about technological challenges faced by the IDF as well as the differences between the techniques used by American and Israeli military technology units.
Brig. Gen. Bren was able to convey to the audience the importance of technology in completing precise military missions and gathering critical data which can prevent attacks on Israel. An incredible asset to the IDF Lotem unit, Brig. Gen. Bren started leading a revolution in the C4I activities of the IDF in 2013. By 2015, the C4I Directorate was well developed and now provides the entire military with uniform technology systems, which link the air, sea and land arms. In addition, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Bren, the Lotem Unit developed a special IDF encryption system and an IDF cyber warfare defense system.
The dynamic evening with Brig. Gen. Danny Bren at MIT exposed students to a non-political side of Israel. The audience learned about Israel’s advancement in technology and its global technological impact. Brig. Gen. Danny Bren has recently retired from the IDF but there is no question that his leadership plays a significant role in the Lotem Unit’s capabilities in defending Israel or that his work leaves a significant legacy in the advancement of technology.
Contributed by CAMERA Intern Penina Simkovitz.
