Developing Israel’s Digital Iron Dome in the Negev
Developing Israel’s Digital Iron Dome in the Negev
July 26, 2013
Business & Management, Homeland & Cyber Security
Israel’s first private cyber security incubator is being established in Beer-Sheva under a partnership between the Israeli venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The incubator is set to open its doors in October in the new Advanced Technologies Park (ATP) located adjacent to BGU’s Marcus Family Campus and near the IDF’s new computer technology and intelligence base.
In collaboration with the Israeli government and the Beer-Sheva municipality, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was the founding force behind the ATP, seeking to encourage development and jobs in the Negev.
The Israeli government estimates that more than 10,000 technology employees will move south to the cyber security center, and the Israeli Cabinet recently announced a major additional investment (NIS 500 million or $125 million) for economic development, housing, services and infrastructure improvements to accommodate the growth.
“The initiative comes in the wake of rising cyberthreats and increasing attacks on critical infrastructure in Israel and around the world,” says JVP founder and chair Erel Margalit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told delegates at Israel’s 3rd Annual Cybersecurity Conference in Tel Aviv that Israel is uniquely set up for cyber challenges due to its own experience in protecting cybersecurity.
“Today cyber is part of the battlefield,” says Prime Minister Netanyahu. “This is not tomorrow’s warfare, it is already here today.”
In the face of cyberattacks by Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, Israel needs a digital Iron Dome to protect against terrorism – the virtual equivalent of the country’s air defense system, which intercepted and destroyed hundreds of rockets and artillery shells launched from the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip toward Israeli cities last November, Netanyahu says.
Read more on the International Business News website >>
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