Netanyahu says Israel ready to thwart election cyber meddling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that his country led the world in cyber defence, after a report that an unnamed nation planned to meddle in its upcoming general election.

"Israel is prepared to thwart a cyber intervention, we're prepared for any scenario and there's no country more prepared than we are," he told reporters.

On Tuesday, privately-owned Hadashot television news reported that the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency had said that Israel was bracing for a state driven cyber intervention in the April 9 poll.

"A foreign state is planning on intervening in the upcoming elections in Israel, and it will intervene," Nadav Argaman was quoted as telling participants of a closed meeting.

"I don't know at this stage in favour of who or against who," he reportedly said in Hebrew.

Shin Bet later issued a statement saying that Israel "has the tools to locate, monitor and thwart attempts of foreign influence, if there should be any."