Unit 8200

Unit 8200 is an <a href="/facts/Israeli_Intelligence_Corps/3KQczF2d">Israeli Intelligence Corps</a> unit of the <a href="/facts/Israel_Defense_Forces/9hPaqcAM">Israel Defense Forces</a> responsible for clandestine operation, collecting <a href="/facts/Signal_intelligence/Iwzvw6AW">signal intelligence</a> (SIGINT) and code decryption, <a href="/facts/Counterintelligence/MDAxLaSh">counterintelligence</a>, <a href="/facts/Cyberwarfare/UYp25v4v">cyberwarfare</a>, <a href="/facts/Military_intelligence/VQJypEMT">military intelligence</a>, and surveillance. Military publications include references to Unit 8200 as the Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps, and it is sometimes referred to as Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU). It is subordinate to <a href="/facts/Military_Intelligence_Directorate_(Israel)/sg7f1nem">Aman</a>, the military intelligence directorate.
The unit is composed primarily of 18–21 year olds. As a result of the youth of the soldiers in the unit, and the shortness of their service period, the unit relies on selecting recruits with the ability for rapid adaptation and speedy learning. Afterschool programs for 16–18 year olds, teaching computer coding and hacking skills, also serve as feeder programs for the unit. Former Unit 8200 soldiers have, after completing their military service, gone on to founding and occupying top positions in many international IT companies and in <a href="/facts/Silicon_Valley/gdot9J7e">Silicon Valley</a>.
According to the Director of Military Sciences at the <a href="/facts/Royal_United_Services_Institute/uLBC0dzh">Royal United Services Institute</a>, "Unit 8200 is probably the foremost technical intelligence agency in the world and stands on a par with the <a href="/facts/National_Security_Agency/Sg6MGV1o">NSA</a> in everything except scale."

Unit 8200 open-in-new

Unit 8200