Unit 8200

Unit 8200
יחידה 8200
Founded1952
Country Israel
Allegiance Israel Defense Forces
Branch Military Intelligence Directorate
TypeMilitary intelligence unit
RoleClandestine operations
Collecting signal intelligence and code decryption
Counterintelligence
Cyberwarfare
HUMINT
Intelligence assessment
Military intelligence
Strategic intelligence
Surveillance
SizeClassified
DecorationsChief of Staff Medal of Appreciation (2)
Commanders
Current
commander
Brigadier General Yossi Sariel[1]
Current deputy commanderAnonymous male officer[2]

Unit 8200 (Hebrew: יחידה 8200, Yehida shmone matayim "Unit eight two-hundred") is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for clandestine operation, collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counterintelligence, cyberwarfare, military intelligence, and surveillance. Military publications include references to Unit 8200 as the Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps, and it is sometimes referred to as Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU).[3] It is subordinate to Aman, the military intelligence directorate.

The unit is composed primarily of 18–21 year olds. As a result of the youth of the soldiers in the unit, and the shortness of their service period, the unit relies on selecting recruits with the ability for rapid adaptation and speedy learning.[4] Afterschool programs for 16–18 year olds, teaching computer coding and hacking skills, also serve as feeder programs for the unit.[5] Former Unit 8200 soldiers have, after completing their military service, gone on to founding and occupying top positions in many international IT companies and in Silicon Valley.[5][6]

According to the Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, "Unit 8200 is probably the foremost technical intelligence agency in the world and stands on a par with the NSA in everything except scale."[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ בן-חורין, יצחק (11 September 2013). חשיפה: ארה"ב העבירה ל-8200 מידע סודי. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  4. ^ "8200 graduates aren't like 23 year-olds in Texas or Norway" 5 Jun, 2017, Tali Tsipori
  5. ^ a b Inside Israel's Secret Startup Machine Richard Behar , CONTRIBUTOR, MAY 11, 2016
  6. ^ From The Israeli Army Unit 8200 To Silicon Valley Posted Mar 20, 2015 by Idan Tendler
  7. ^ Unit 8200: Israel's cyber spy agency, Former insiders and whistle-blowers provide a view of the formidable military intelligence outfit JULY 10, 2015 by John Reed, Financial Times