Israeli Start-ups’ Fight for Cyber Security
Cyber Security
For 25 years, Israel has dominated globally in the development of IT security technologies, particularly in the area of cybersecurity. Already by the early 1990s, Israel was leading the development of the first generation of cybersecurity innovation—particularly early antivirus software and firewall technology. In recent years, Israel has held its position on the frontlines of breakthrough development in cybersecurity thanks to the unique innovation ecosystem of the “Start-up Nation.” An incomparable concentration of professionals with a background in Cyber (such as military intelligence veterans), spurred by a general spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation, comprises the foundations of Israel’s Cybersecurity industry. This unmatched community of innovators draws support from the Israeli government, producing initiatives for collaboration (e.g. The National Cyber Bureau, Cyberspark), and serves local demand. Despite its size, Israel’s small local market exerts an inverse demand for innovative solutions, significantly prompting the development of next-gen cybersecurity. For example, the Israel Electric Corporation, because it absorbs thousands of cyberattacks daily, constitutes an optimal beta site for testing new and innovative ideas—both for policy and technology. But Israeli cybersecurity has for years commanded the attention of foreign markets, as well—to the extent that Israel has become the home of cybersecurity R&D centers belonging to many multinational corporations. These various factors collectively position Israel as a pioneer in the global development of disruptive cybersecurity solutions and the design of revolutionary cyber policy.
Israeli Cyber security key facts
- Nearly 350 active cybersecurity companies, over 200 founded since 2013.
- Annual exports of $3.5B, which is 5% of the global market expenditure on cybersecurity solutions (2nd only to the USA).
- In 2015, Israeli cybersecurity companies raised $500M, which is 15% of global venture capital raised in 2015.
- Since the beginning of 2014, 26 Israeli companies exited, with total valuation of over$2.5B. Among them:
- Adallom, Aorato, and Secure Islands—acquired by Microsoft
- Trusteer—acquired by IBM
- Cyvera—acquired by Palo Alto Networks
- CyActive—acquired by Paypal
- Three out of the largest cybersecurity companies worldwide are Israeli: CheckPoint, CyberArk, and Imperva
- Israel is home to cybersecurity R&D centers of prominent international companies: Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, EMC, Lokheed Martin, Citi Bank, PalyPal, GE, Amazon, Cisco, Oracle, Intel, AVG.
- 40% of Gartner’s 2015 ‘Cool Vendors’ in cybersecurity-related fields were Israelis.
- Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Israeli cybersecurity solutions.
Read more to learn how Israeli start-ups are combating Cyber Security threats.