Germany turns to Israel for a ‘cyber dome’ amid rising threats

Germany and Israel have signed a cyber and security cooperation agreement designed to counter cyber threats and bolster protection of critical infrastructure, the two countries announced this week.

Berlin hopes the deal will help it to build a German version of Israel’s so-called “cyber dome” — a semi-automated system designed to detect, analyze and respond to cyberattacks in real time.

The pact was signed in Jerusalem over the weekend by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deepening what Berlin describes as one of its closest security partnerships outside NATO and the European Union.

“We have a strong interest in learning how Israel built the cyber dome,” Dobrindt said, adding that it will help to further strengthen resilience in the cyber domain.

Under the agreement, both countries will exchange expertise on defending against cyberattacks and jointly develop new cyber defense tools.

The deal also includes plans to establish a joint artificial intelligence and cyber innovation center and to to increase cooperation on securing connected and autonomous vehicles, protection of energy infrastructure, and technologies for drone detection and defense.

Dobrindt said the enhanced cyber defenses would benefit both small businesses and critical infrastructure operators in Germany.

For Netanyahu, the cyber pact is part of a broader “comprehensive security partnership” that also centers on counterterrorism. Cyber threats, he said, rank among the most serious dangers to internal security and national infrastructure.

“Iran and its allies — Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis — threaten not only Israel, but also regional stability and international security,” Netanyahu said.

While Berlin has not publicly reported recent Iran-linked cyberattacks, German intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned of growing cyber and espionage threats from foreign powers, particularly Russia, China and Iran. 

A government report published last year said Iranian intelligence activities in Germany were largely focused on monitoring Iranian opposition groups based in the country.

The agreement comes as Germany faces growing cyber threats to state systems and critical infrastructure, which Berlin has said are largely linked to Russia-aligned actors.

Last month, Germany summoned Russia’s ambassador after accusing Moscow of carrying out a cyberattack on its state-owned air traffic control operator and of running a disinformation campaign ahead of February’s federal election.

Berlin has said it has evidence linking an August 2024 cyberattack on Deutsche Flugsicherung, Germany’s air traffic control authority, to APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which is tied to Russia’s military intelligence agency.