Will there be senior Israeli cybersecurity officials in Spain next week? The possible presence of a delegation of technology companies from the country, closely linked to the massive surveillance of the Palestinian population and the military operations of the Israeli army, overshadowed the celebration of the annual congress of the National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe ), whose eighteenth edition begins next week.
Several civil society groups denounced the invitation to the event by Israeli advisers and called for a rejection demonstration next Tuesday in front of the organization’s headquarters in León, while Sumar presented a battery of questions to the government on this subject. However, official sources from Incibe, which appeared this Friday with graffiti on its facade, deny to elDiario.es that such an invitation was made, as well as the presence of advisors from the Hebrew country at the conference. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, the political person responsible for the organization, supports this version.
“At no time did we receive an invitation from us for them to serve as speakers,” says Incibe, who acknowledges, however, that several cybersecurity experts from Israeli companies “had registered as participants in a forum of ‘business parallel to the forum’. event. “These people had expressed their intention to participate in the forum, but to date they have not finalized their registration and we can confirm that they will not attend, because they are not registered,” specify the same sources.
The official Incibe website states that the forum is “a unique opportunity to connect with business leaders, CISOs [jefes de seguridad, por sus siglas en inglés] international and industrial professionals from more than 15 countries. A place to “close the meetings” with representatives of these countries, among whom was a delegation from Israel which will ultimately not be present, says the organization.
Incibe had created profiles of these businessmen on its official website, with a version in Spanish and English, as this media was able to verify. These profiles were indexed by Google and appear when searching for their names accompanied by the term “Incibe”, but the organization blocked them. When you access it, your page displays an “access denied” notice. The same thing happens with the description of the Israeli delegation.
This is the case, for example, of the profile of Assaf Marco, who rose to the rank of major in the Israeli army before founding a cybersecurity company called I Plus Cyber. Marco had already written a presentation about his participation in the International Meeting on Information Security (Enise), as the Incibe congress is called. “Our goal for 18ENISE is to explore collaboration opportunities with Spanish companies to work together and provide businesses and communities with proactive visibility into emerging threats in Spain and around the world,” he explained.
Incibe and the Ministry of Digital Transformation deny to elDiario.es that this organization or the government rejected the assistance of Israeli advisors who had registered to participate in Enise. They claim these are the people who have not “finalized their registration” and decided not to attend. As this media was able to verify, at least five Israeli business leaders already had a profile created on the organization’s website.
“Battle tested”: the technological aspect of the genocide
Technological capabilities represent one of the Israeli military’s most important weapons. Many of these tools are developed and perfected by companies that collaborate or come directly from the military environment. For example, Israel has used drones, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity technologies in its operations in Gaza, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.
Even before the current Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israeli technology companies had transformed the occupied Palestinian territories into a testing ground for their military and espionage systems, which they then marketed globally. These technologies, developed and perfected in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, were presented as “battle-proven”. This practice has intensified with the open conflict: “Many companies promote the military equipment that the army is testing in Gaza,” warn experts who have worked in the field.
The alleged invitation of a delegation of these companies to Enise had sparked rejection from civil society organizations. The University Assembly for Palestine of León, the No to War and No to NATO coordinator, Agora País Llioneses, FdE, the Students’ Union, CC OO and CGT, Izquierda Unida, the Spanish Communist Party, the Union of communist youth, communist workers. The Communist Party, the Young Communist Collective and the RAM have called a demonstration for next Tuesday.
“This international meeting, considered a reference in Spain for the cybersecurity industry, cannot be a showcase of the technologies used to maintain the apartheid regime and the genocide suffered by the Palestinian people, the invasion of Lebanon and the continued attacks carried out by the Palestinian people. Israeli forces against other Middle Eastern countries; nor should it serve as a vehicle for collaboration with companies in the State of Israel that use these technologies to carry out this violence,” they denounced.
The spokespersons of the convening organizations explained to elDiario.es that Incibe contacted them this Friday afternoon to transmit the same version expressed to this media. They describe what happened as “a victory”, although for the moment they are happy to maintain the protest given that “the genocide against the Palestinian population continues to occur and this is not the first time that ‘Incibe maintains very close relations with businesses and the State of Israel.’
These relationships were maintained until 2024. Last February, Incibe organized “a very relevant business meeting, bringing together a delegation of 10 Israeli companies, experts in cybersecurity solutions, with potential Spanish technological partners”.
“The objective is to consolidate and promote the historic collaboration between civil society and business between the technological sectors of the two countries, through synergies and strategic alliances between Spanish and Israeli companies, open to university and technological centers. There was also agreement on the value of promoting collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and experience in different cybersecurity solutions, where Israel is recognized worldwide for its leadership and innovation. the institution itself abounded.
