OOPS!

Top Israeli Spy Chief Accidentally Revealed His True Identity Online: Report

He reportedly authored a book, which he sold from using a Google account using his real name.

Israel’s top spy chief, Yossi Sariel, reportedly left a trail of evidence online tied to a book he wrote and put up for sale on Amazon that allowed a newspaper to reveal his previously top-secret identity. In a truly modern spy gaffe, the Guardian reported that the Unit 8200 head’s Amazon seller account was tied to a Gmail account that used his real name, with his Google ID linking to his account’s maps and calendar profiles. Sources who spoke to the paper confirmed that it was indeed Sariel behind the accounts. The book that outed Sariel was The Human Machine Team, which was published in 2021 under a pen name that was his initials. In that book, Sariel laid out a radical vision for how artificial intelligence can be used by militaries. The report is sure to put further pressure on Sariel and his cybersecurity unit, which has been criticized in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas—an assault that Israeli officials have described as being an intelligence catastrophe.