TEL AVIV — The Cyber Security Division of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aims to expand collaboration with the Israel National Cyber Bureau (NCB), Israeli cyber companies and local start-up firms.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening session of CyberTech 2015, an international trade show here, DHS Cyber Security Director Douglas Maughan ranked Israel among the top 10 partner nations for cooperative research and development.
As such, DHS is working with Israeli counterparts to integrate an Israeli cyber experimentation center into the US Defense Technology Experimental Research (DETER) test bed.
It’s also encouraging Israeli government agencies, established cyber companies and local start-ups to bid on some $75 million in grants awarded each year for cyber security research, he said.
“Cyber is a team sport,” Maughan told conference participants here. “Advanced research and development has global economic and national security implications for all of us. We have an aggressive agenda with $75 million in annual funding … [and] Israeli NCB and Israeli companies are welcome to respond to our research solicitations.”
More than 100 well-established local and international companies and another 100 Israeli start-up firms participated in the event, which featured senior government officials and industry executives from more than a dozen nations.
The two-day conference and exhibition followed last month’s approval by the Israeli cabinet to establish a National Cyber Authority to bridge security and civilian sectors. The new authority will be established over the next three years and will operate as a single directorate within the prime minister’s office, to be managed by NCB Director Eviatar Matania.
“The authority will act alongside the Israel NCB and “will oversee cyber defense actions so as to provide a comprehensive response against cyber attacks, including dealing with threats and events in real time,” according to a Feb. 15 government statement.
It will also operate an assistance center “for dealing with cyber threats in order to strengthen the resilience of organizations and sectors in the economy.”
Matania, NCB director, said last month’s decision to establish the new authority will determine how Israel deals with cyber threats in coming decades. He added that it would bolster the economy and encourage international cooperation in the cyber field.
“Many developed countries view Israel as a model to be emulated vis-à-vis its innovative approach to the opportunities and threats of the cyber age,” Matania said. “The decision will establish Israel’s important position as a global leader in the field.”
Speaking here March 24, Matania noted that Israel’s cyber industry scored record achievements in 2014: Some 30 cyber firms raised over $200 million in outside capital, some 40 percent more than the previous year. Moreover, eight Israeli cyber companies were purchased for an overall sum exceeding $700 million.
In a special Israel Defense report published for the event, Gadi Tirosh, a managing partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, listed seven reasons why Israel’s cyber sector — and Israeli cyber firms — will continue to play prominent roles in the global high-tech sectors for years to come.
Among them, he noted that Israel’s e-government site is one of the most highly attacked sites in the world, with attacks spiking during military operations such as last summer’s Gaza war.
“As the hackers’ sophistication and appetite for destruction grows, so must our defensive capacities,” he wrote.
He cited the nexus between Israel’s government, military and private-sector cyber sectors companies as unique added value to aspiring partners and investors.
“We don’t see emerging high-tech hubs such as India or China creating credible cyber-defensive solutions in the foreseeable future,” Tirosh wrote. “That is why the Israeli cyber-security ecosystem will continue to enjoy its unique competitive advantage for years to come.”
He added that the surge of mergers and acquisitions in the Israeli cyber sector “will continue to drive more entrepreneurs and investors to invest their creativity and cash in establishing more interesting, ground-breaking companies.
“The list is expansive and growing, including CyActive’s recent acquisiton by PayPal, PaloAlto by Civera and Trusteer’s acquisition by IBM for $800 million, to name just a few,” Tirosh said.
Gil Shwed, founder, chairman and chief executive of Tel Aviv-based Check Point, told conference participants that Israelis have been known to offend people by with their aggressive, threat-driven, goal-oriented nature.
“This can create a bad reputation for Israelis, but that’s what’s driving our culture of innovation,” said the multi-billionaire entrepreneur, whose firm is credited with devising the modern firewall.
Email: bopallrome@defensenews.com
