Israel's Defense Ministry dismissed Yair Ramati, the nation's head of missile defense, for a “grave breach of information security.”
The ministry did not provide specifics about the cause for Ramati's dismissal, although Israeli media outlets reported that Ramati had stored confidential documents on his personal computer.
The protocol breach threatens to set back cooperation between the US and Israel, as the two countries increasingly strive to cooperate on cyber-threats, especially as the US seeks to respond to attacks from Iranian hacking groups. These groups pose a shared threat to the US and Israel.
Ramati led deployment of Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile program. In July 2014, journalist Brian Krebs reported that Chinese hackers attacked three defense contractors involved in the ‘Iron Dome' project.
The US and Israel released a joint statement in July announcing “cooperation and information sharing on cyber-security and cyber-research and development.”
