A cyber-financial cooperation agreement was signed between Israel and the United States

The Cyber, Emergency and Security Unit and the Chief Economist Division at the Ministry of Finance continue to strengthen the long-standing relationship and cooperation with the US. Further to the meeting of Finance Minister Lieberman with the US Deputy Treasury Secretary, Wally Adeyemo, in November 2021, in which they discussed the need to strengthen the resilience of systems, organizations financial and deepening cooperation on the subject, today (Tuesday) a cooperation agreement (MOU) in the cyber-financial field was signed between the ministries of finance of Israel and the USA. On the Israeli side, the agreement was signed by Yoni Mor, head of the Cyber, Emergency and Security Unit at the Ministry of Finance. On the American side, Todd Conklin, Deputy Assistant Secretary, signed the agreement.
The agreement deepens and tightens the cooperation in the protection of financial infrastructures and the stability of the financial sector for the purpose of strengthening the resilience of the national and international financial system and concerns these aspects:
- Sharing financial cyber information including information about cyber security, events and threats.
- Work methodologies to strengthen the resilience of the financial system.
- Conducting joint and cross-border cyber-financial exercises.
The agreement is the first of its kind signed by the Ministries of Finance in the field that combines cyber and finance, following the leadership of the State of Israel in the cyber-financial field. In light of its signing, toward the end of 2022 the ministries of finance will lead the first bilateral cyber-financial exercise, practicing the resilience of the financial system in the face of a cyber attack from entities that threaten to damage the immunity of the financial system.
Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman: "Today we are deepening the long-standing partnership between Israel and the US and deploying an iron dome to the financial system to protect against cyber threats.
Together, we are prepared to maintain the continuity of the supply of essential financial services for the citizens of Israel and to maintain the normal operation of the entire financial system."
US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo: "We are pleased to welcome the Israeli government as a partner in our global effort to stop the extortion. This partnership has already resulted in real-time cyber threat data sharing to prevent ransomware distribution and other cyber attacks from affecting the US economic sector. We look forward to expanding this partnership."
The head of the cyber, emergency and security system at the Ministry of Finance, Yoni Mor: "I thank our American partners for the fruitful cooperation that strengthens the resilience of the national financial system. The signing of the agreement will help improve preparedness in essential, cross-sector cyber-financial scenarios. This is a significant milestone in strengthening the concept of The cyber defense of the financial system and we see it as the first swallow for international agreements and cooperation in these areas."