Experts warn of cyber threats ahead of Israel's election

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 2, 2019 file photo, Israeli border police officers stand guard next to posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Ha'tikva market in Tel Aviv, Israel. As Israel prepares to hold a national election next week, experts say it is vulnerable to the kind of foreign hacks and cyber campaigns that have disrupted the political process in other countries. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

Israel Electric Corporation employee works next to election campaign billboards showing Israeli Prime Minister and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu, left, alongside the Blue and White party leaders, from left to right, Moshe Yaalon, Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

JERUSALEM – Experts say that Israel, which is holding national elections next week, is vulnerable to the kind of foreign hacks and cyber campaigns that have disrupted the political process in other countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is "no country better prepared" to combat election interference.

But despite Israel's thriving tech sector and vaunted security capabilities, experts say its laws are outdated and that Netanyahu's government hasn't made cyber threats a priority.

Campaigning had just started to ramp up in January when the director of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, told a closed audience that a world power had tried to disrupt the April 9 vote. Suspicion fell on Russian operatives, now infamous for their alleged cyber meddling in America's 2016 presidential race and the Brexit referendum.