New York Times: Israel Successfully Infiltrated ISIS Computers

The New York Times reported on Monday that, according to confidential information disclosed by the U.S. President to the Russian Foreign Minister, Israel had successfully infiltrated ISIS bomb-making computers. On Monday, June 12, the American newspaper wrote that Donald Trump shared classified information during his meeting last month with Sergey Lavrov regarding Israel's successful penetration of ISIS computers. According to the New York Times, Israel was able to track a network of ISIS bomb makers in Syria through cyber warfare and shared this intelligence and cyber success with the U.S. The report stated that Israel discovered that ISIS bomb makers were producing explosives capable of misleading X-ray equipment and other security devices at airports. The explosives were reportedly intended to be smuggled into Western passenger planes bound for the U.S. and the UK in the form of laptop batteries. Three months ago, the U.S. banned passengers from bringing relatively large electronic devices, including laptops, on flights from eight predominantly Muslim Middle Eastern countries to the U.S. After some time, the U.S. extended this regulation to flights from other destinations as well. Subsequently, several countries, including the UK, followed this U.S. action. However, during his meeting last month in Washington with the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Trump disclosed part of this classified information to these Russian officials. The New York Times noted that with this revelation and its media coverage, which Trump himself considered 'his right as President' to disclose, tracking ISIS movements became more challenging. Trump stated during his recent visit to Israel that he did not mention Israel in his conversation with Sergey Lavrov. Israel officially remained silent on this matter, but some of its media reported that there were grievances among institutions and officials regarding this unintended disclosure behind closed doors. On the other hand, Israel officially announced that it continues its security and intelligence cooperation with the U.S., its most important ally. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that after Trump informed Russia of these Israeli capabilities, Israel became concerned that Russia might share Israeli confidential information with Iran. The New York Times reminded that U.S.-Israeli intelligence cooperation has increased over the years, particularly in joint efforts against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. According to the New York Times, the U.S. Department of Defense has intensified its cyber warfare against ISIS since last year, and Israel's success in cyber-tracking ISIS bomb makers has led to U.S. admiration for Israel's capabilities.