A high-ranking member of Israel’s cybersecurity directorate was recently arrested in Las Vegas as part of an undercover sting operation involving internet crimes against children, according to the State Department.
A joint operation between city police and the FBI that targeted child sex predators resulted in the arrest of Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a man who, according to many news outlets, has been identified as a member of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, which operates out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Mediate previously reported that Alexandrovich’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile had also identified him as an official with the agency. The Jerusalem Post claims that Alexandrovich worked “in a technical role at the Cyber Directorate,” and KLAS-TV, a CBS news affiliate, also claims to have confirmed that an “Israeli government official was one of eight people arrested” during the weekend sting, and that Alexandrovich was in the city for “a cyber event.” Blackhat, the well-known cybersecurity conference, recently took place in Vegas.
Additionally, the U.S. government appears to have confirmed much of this information. The X account for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs posted about the arrest, in an apparent effort to dispel internet rumors that the government had intervened on Alexandrovich’s behalf. “The Department of State is aware that Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for charges related to soliciting sex electronically from a minor,” the post states. “He did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date. Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false.” When reached for comment by Gizmodo, the State Department simply referred us to its tweet.
Alexandrovich faces a charge of luring a child with a computer for sex acts, KLAS writes. He was allowed to leave after having posted a $10,000 bail, the outlet adds, citing court records.
An archived Haaretz report states that a “senior official in Israel’s National Cyber Directorate” had been questioned in Vegas for alleged online solicitation of a minor, but does not identify the official by name. However, the report also includes a statement from Israel’s cyber directorate, which admits that one of its employees was questioned by authorities during a trip to the U.S. The statement reads: “The employee updated the directorate that during his trip to the United States, he was questioned by U.S. authorities on matters unrelated to his work, and he returned to Israel on his scheduled date. The directorate has not yet received additional details through official channels. If and when such details are received, the directorate will act accordingly.”
Gizmodo reached out to the Las Vegas Police Department and the Israeli government for more information.