Unit 8200

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Unit 8200
יחידה 8200‎
Founded	1952
Country	Israel
Allegiance	Israel Defense Forces
Branch	Military Intelligence Directorate
Type	Military intelligence unit
Role	Clandestine operations Collecting signal intelligence and code decryption Counterintelligence Cyberwarfare HUMINT Intelligence assessment Military intelligence Strategic intelligence Surveillance
Size	Classified
Decorations	Chief of Staff Medal of Appreciation (2)
Commanders
Current commander	Brigadier General Yossi Sariel[1]
Current deputy commander	Anonymous male officer[2]

Unit 8200 (Hebrew: יחידה 8200, Yehida shmone matayim "Unit eight two-hundred") is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for clandestine operation, collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counterintelligence, cyberwarfare, military intelligence, 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).^[3] It is subordinate to Aman, 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.^[4] Afterschool programs for 16–18 year olds, teaching computer coding and hacking skills, also serve as feeder programs for the unit.^[5] 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 Silicon Valley.^[5][6]

According to the Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, "Unit 8200 is probably the foremost technical intelligence agency in the world and stands on a par with the NSA in everything except scale."^[7]