Col. (Ret.) Snir Barnes
Fellow, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Reichman University & Senior consultant for Tech, Information and Influence
Col. Barnes is a senior consultant in the fields of technology, intelligence, and influence across multiple projects and companies.
In his most recent role, he served as Head of the Influence Operations Department in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), holding the rank of Colonel.
In his most recent role, he served as Head of the Influence Operations Department in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), holding the rank of Colonel.
Prior to that, commanded the General Staff Targeting Center and was responsible for the development of AI systems for target generation and information extraction from diverse sources.
2020-2022: Head of the Northern Arena, Operations Division, Military Intelligence Directorate.
2019-2020: Deputy Commander of the Cyber Attack Center, Unit 8200.
2018-2019: Head of the Lebanon Arena, Unit 8200.
2016-2018: Head of the Judea & Samaria and Global Terror Arena, Unit 8200.
Before these roles, held a series of positions in network intelligence within the SIGINT-Cyber domain at Unit 8200.
An expert in Arab and Islamic affairs, with a focus on the Shiite axis (Lebanon, Syria, Iran). A graduate of Unit 8200 held a range of unique roles that, even in the early days of LLMs and AI, combined intelligence and technology – primarily for automated, scalable intelligence extraction and its translation into operational capabilities.
In his most recent position, he served as a senior commander in the field of strategic communications and influence vis-à-vis Middle Eastern arena at the General Staff level.
Holds a B.A. with highest honors in Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Management from Tel Aviv University, and an MBA from Peres Academic Center.
