BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Israeli technology hired by Argentina to provide security during the G20 global leaders’ summit detected several unauthorized drone incidents.
Despite previous fears, the participation of leaders from 19 countries and the European Union wasn’t affected.
The Defense Ministry of Argentina signed a contract worth more than $5 million with its Israeli counterpart last year to provide cyber defense and cybersecurity services to the meeting. Israel is not a member of the G20 group.Several suspicious drones flying into the presence of global leaders were successfully blocked by the Israeli technology.
On Thursday, summit authorities detected a non-authorized drone in an area of the hotels in which the foreign delegations stayed. The drone was neutralized.
On Friday evening a drone flew close to the group of leaders that were entering the iconic Colon Theatre for a gala event. The drone was neutralized and fell to the street, according a report by the Clarin newspaper.
The signed contract was for the implementation of a Cyber Defense Informatics Emergency Response Team (CERT) and a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT).
On Sept. 21, the countries signed the Implementation Agreement for the project. The cyber defense program includes the capability to inhibit drones to a certain range. The cybersecurity software includes the ability to collect and analyze information from social networks.
The Drone Guard system sold to Argentina by ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), also was successfully used during the 2018 Youth Olympics games in Argentina in October.
The 13th meeting of the international forum of 20 countries held in Buenos Aires last weekend was the first G20 summit to be hosted in South America. Security was one of the main concerns. On Monday, President Mauricio Macri organized an event to recognize the success of the event with the workers, including security forces, in recognition of their performance.
