The Commissioner of Communications, Mr. George Michaelides and the Head of Digital Security Authority (DSA) Mr. Diamantis Zafeiriades in the framework of the USA International Counter Ransomware Initiative attended the presentation of the global platform for sharing information in the fight against cyberattacks and ransomware in Israel.

The heads of the cyber directorates of 40 countries and other organizations are promoting inter-state cooperation as part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative, an international initiative led by The White House that aims to deal with ransomware attacks that have become an international phenomenon; Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which lead the technological sharing platform, present a multinational technological solution in collaboration with Microsoft Israel.

The National Cyber Directorate of Israel and of the United Arab Emirates, along with dozens of cyber directorates of other countries, are initiating the establishment of a global platform for sharing information in the fight against hackers and ransom wars. The system is currently being established through Microsoft Israel מיקרוסופט ישראל as part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative, a global initiative led by the White House that aims to deal with ransomware attacks worldwide.

The advanced system was presented during the Global Cyber Cabinet led by Microsoft Israel and the national cyber Directorate of Israel.

About 15 member states of the CRI initiative participated in the cabinet, including the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Germany, England, Singapore, Interpol and more.

The cyber cabinet meeting was opened by the head of the cyber system, Gabi Portnoy, and the CEO of Microsoft Israel, Alon Chaimovich, who elaborated on artificial intelligence capabilities in the cyber field. The cyber system presented Israel's cyber concept, and a global cyber review was conducted by the director of Microsoft's cyber threat analysis group During the event, the Crystal Ball system was presented.

The Counter Ransomware Initiative, (CRI), is an international initiative led by the White House that aims to deal with ransomware attacks. The initiative began operating at the end of 2022 and includes about 40 countries and organizations, including Israel. The member states of the initiative declared a joint commitment to strengthening the international resistance to ransom attacks and to strengthening the multinational fight against the activity of cybercrime groups. Within this framework, dedicated groups were established for various issues, and Israel together with the United Arab Emirates lead a group whose goal is to develop and deploy technology for information sharing and joint action between the countries with the participation of the private sector.

The Crystal Ball system is an advanced cloud platform embracing countries and partnerships, the result of a collaboration between Microsoft Israel, the Israeli National Cyber ​​System and the United Arab Emirates Cyber ​​System. Its purpose is to enable the analysis and sharing of information in an interactive, fast, safe and easy way between countries on cyber defense issues: from the field of cyber attack analysis to the construction and formulation of a national cyber policy. The system was established under the leadership of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and because of its role and importance it is at the core of the White House's international cyber initiative.
According to Gabi Portnoy, head of the national cyber system: "We are facing common cyber challenges. The attack surface is expanding along with new technologies and the increasing motivation of attackers. We need to face the challenges in partnership and use the knowledge we have gained and new technologies for better and faster protection."

Alon Chaimovich, CEO of Microsoft Israel: "In an era of sophisticated attacks, an integrated and sophisticated response is required and coalitions are required. The system that was presented today to the heads of the cyber arrays will give countries the power, capabilities and knowledge to fight ransom attacks in real time with continuous, convenient and high-quality cooperation. We are proud of the cyber defense capabilities that the company has developed in recent years and our ability to share intelligence, alerts while combining with platforms for effective collaboration."