Investigative Journalists, Not Arab Hackers, Exposed the Commander of Israel’s Intelligence Unit 8200

Misbar investigated the circulating claim and found it to be misleading. The individual who uncovered the identity of the commander of the Israeli Intelligence Unit 8200 was not an Arab hacker, but rather a team from The Guardian newspaper. This team included investigative journalist Harry Davis, open-source intelligence officer Manisha Ganguly, and Jerusalem correspondent Bethan McKernan. There were no Arab individuals in the investigation team.

An Email Exposes the Commander of Israel’s Top-Secret Intelligence Unit

The Guardian newspaper confirmed last Friday, April 5, that Colonel Yossi Sariel is the secret author of "The Human Machine Team," a book published in 2021 under a pseudonym formed from the initials "Y.S." Sariel outlined advanced AI systems, such as the "Lavender" and "Gospel" systems, in which the Israeli army has proven to excel, notably during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper managed to uncover Sariel's identity through an anonymous email address included in the electronic version of the book. Journalists easily traced it to a Google account bearing Sariel's name.

By tracing the digital fingerprints of his name and email, the newspaper found evidence of Sariel's activity on Hebrew Wikipedia, where he used his real name to edit various pages, including one about King Louis XIV of France and another titled "The Issue of Palestinian Refugees."

Additionally, The Guardian identified accounts linked to Sariel on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Skype. His photo appeared on his Facebook account - which was deleted after the revelation - and his LinkedIn profile listed him as a dean, associated with other accounts belonging to the Military Intelligence Unit 8200.

Israel Admits Revealing the Unit 8200 Commander’s Identity Was a Mistake

An Israeli army spokesperson told The Guardian that the email address was not personally Sariel's but was "specifically created for issues related to the book itself." Hours after the investigation was published, the Israeli army described the book's disclosure of Sariel's personal details as a "mistake" in a statement to Israeli media, adding, "The matter will be examined to prevent similar incidents in the future."

Until his identity was revealed last week, Sariel's identity was a state secret in Israel. Journalists in the country were prohibited from mentioning his name despite the significant controversy surrounding his leadership of Unit 8200 and discussions of its failure to anticipate or prevent the October 7 attack.

Responding to The Guardian's revelations, Israeli historian specializing in documenting Israeli intelligence information, Yossi Melman, tweeted that revealing Sariel was "a big embarrassment" and "only increases his personal responsibility and the unit's glaring failure" in preventing attacks led by Hamas last year.

Meanwhile, Yuval Elbashan, a law professor and former member of Unit 8200, told Yedioth Ahronoth that Sariel showed "recklessness and lack of professionalism." He said it was "hard to believe" that Sariel "dared to publish a book on Amazon about an advanced secret field he was assigned to as part of his work."

However, in response to criticisms targeting Sariel and Unit 8200, the Israeli army stated, "The commander of Unit 8200 is a respected officer, leading his unit in wartime. Any claims and attempts to portray his behavior as reckless or irresponsible are baseless."

What Is Unit 8200?

Despite its establishment since the 1950s and undergoing various restructuring and renaming stages, the Israeli Computer Intelligence Unit remained in the shadows until the past decade, with no public acknowledgment of its existence. However, in recent years, former recruits of Unit 8200 have begun sharing some information about their experience, providing glimpses into their military service.

According to the Israeli army, Unit 8200 is the main intelligence-gathering unit in the Military Intelligence Directorate, tasked with "providing the Israeli government and army with daily intelligence warnings and alerts during wartime to protect Israel from threats." Soldiers in the unit are responsible for developing and using information-gathering tools, as well as analyzing, processing, and exchanging collected information with relevant officials. They also "closely track terrorist activities and developments in Arab countries, as well as technological advancements worldwide."

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