CybersecurityGlobal entities come shopping for Israeli cybersecurity

By Viva Sarah Press

Published 2 February 2017

As computer devices and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity continue to break new boundaries and create changes to our lifestyle, new cybersecurity technologies to defend our tech-savvy lives are crucial. “We’re still at the beginning for the cyber arena. We still need the security solution for smart homes, we still don’t have security solutions for autonomous cars, or for connected medical devices or MRI machines, or for connected kitchen appliances. Every technology that will be introduced to our lives in the coming years will need a cyber solution,” says one expert.

As computer devices and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity continue to break new boundaries and create changes to our lifestyle, new cybersecurity technologies to defend our tech-savvy lives are crucial.

“Not many years ago, computers were far away. Then they came to our desktops, then to our laptops, and then to our pockets; now they’re in our clothes and, for some, in our body — medical devices. All this needs to be defended,” Erez Kreiner, CEO of Cyber-Rider and former director of Israel’s National Cyber Security Authority, told a press gathering at this week’s Cybertech 2017 conference in Tel Aviv.

He noted that Israel is the place to find many of the best cybersecurity products.

Last year saw sixty-five startups created in Israel’s cyber space, according to Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit organization. Altogether, the country boasts about 450 companies specializing in cyber, according to a Reuters report.

Israel’s venture-capital funding in the cyber sector, according to Start-Up Nation Central, is a record $581 million, second only to the United States.

YL Ventures’ report showing the hottest types of cybersecurity solutions to attract investment in 2016 included mobile security, vulnerability and risk management, network security, SCADA security and incident response.

“We’re still at the beginning for the cyber arena. We still need the security solution for smart homes, we still don’t have security solutions for autonomous cars, or for connected medical devices or MRI machines, or for connected kitchen appliances. Every technology that will be introduced to our lives in the coming years will need a cyber solution,” says Kreiner.

Indeed, our digital society makes us vulnerable to external threats of cyber terror, cybercrime and identity theft.

Control systems, online banking, networks, databases and electronic devices are all susceptible to attack.

“In the cyber arena, I’d say we’re in the September 10th zone,” says Kreiner. “We know very bad things can happen. So we invest in cybersecurity but still we’re very much on the edge.”

In search of Israeli innovation
Cybertech 2017, held for its fourth year at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, attracted over 10,000 visitors, investors, entrepreneurs and cyber companies. Cybertech is the second largest conference and exhibition of cyber technologies in the world.

Visitors come seeking the latest in cybersecurity. After all, Israelis came up with the concept of firewall security before hackers even started attacking personal computers.