Author: OurCrowd

Managing Israel’s Cybersecurity: The Triple Mission of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate

Managing Israel’s Cybersecurity: The Triple Mission of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate

Jul 30, 2018 |

This is a guest post by Joel Tsafrir featuring an interview with Yigal Unna, Director General the Israeli National Cyber Directorate (INCD). As early as 2002, before the cyber hype began, the Israeli government already defined the issue of information security as an essential domain for the country and placed the Israeli Security Agency (“Shin Bet”) in charge of protecting the information at the national level. Since this decision took place, no damage accrued to Israel’s critical infrastructures, even though these facilities are the target of daily cyber-attacks, and although the rate of attempts to attack them is constantly increasing at a rate of 25% per year. Today, the overall cyber responsibility lies with Israeli National Cyber Directorate (INCD), which integrates together two government agencies used to operated separately in the areas of cyber protection and the construction of technological power. We sat down with INCD’s Director General Yigal Unna to learn more about the ‘triple mission’ of the organization. Coordinate the national effort “The INCD, which operates directly under the Prime Minister, is a security-operative, non-secretive body that...

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Partnering with Corporates is Not an Option, it’s a Necessity

Partnering with Corporates is Not an Option, it’s a Necessity

Nov 6, 2017 |

OurNetwork Q3 Innovation Report: Partnering with Corporates is Not an Option, it’s a Necessity By Matan Bordo, The Junction by F2 Capital The following is an excerpt from the OurNetwork Q3 Innovation Report, downloadable here. “Corporate Innovation” is a phrase that has been thrown around a great deal over the past decade. For many reasons, it has become obvious to global corporations that an innovation model that relies solely on the R&D department or innovating internally will lead them on the path towards obsolescence. This relatively newfound sense of urgency among corporates is prevalent due to various factors — one being that the cost of launching a startup decreased by 99.9% from 2000 to 2011. This paved the way for the widespread acceptance and practice of the “Lean Startup” methodology, introduced in 2008, within entrepreneurial communities — and even conglomerates like GE — around the world. Sometimes, corporate innovation is real and has yielded tremendous outcomes for both the startup and corporation. On other occasions, it is just fluff — what CB Insights correctly dubs as Corporate Innovation Theatrics (introducing...

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[HIL Medical in Geektime] Israeli biomed HIL Applied Medical acquires Reno’s Nanolabz in race for cancer treatment

Jun 1, 2016 |

Jerusalem-based HIL Applied Medical Ltd. announced on Thursday their buyout of Nanolabz Inc., a Nevada-based firm developing smart nano-engineered targets for the short-pulse R&D sector. According to CEO Sagi Brink-Danan, HIL made their acquisition through an equity agreement wherein Nanolabz’s stakeholders gained ownership of 5% of the Israeli company’s shares. Read more on...

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Risk and Reward: The truth about diversification

Risk and Reward: The truth about diversification

Feb 2, 2016 | , ,

It is a common misconception that investing in startups is for the uber-wealthy, venture capital and angel investing insiders; being exclusive and risky — an alternative asset class where losing is part of the strategy. Venture capitalists leaders highlight how often you lose before you win. Thought leader Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures says, “Investing in startups is risky. If you make just one investment, you are likely going to lose everything. If you make two, you are still likely to lose money. If you make five, you might get all your money back across all five investments. If you make ten, you might start making money on the aggregate set of investments.” How Much to Invest That being said, no one will advise you to put a large percentage of your savings into early stage companies. However, if you allocate 5% of your overall portfolio into startup investments you can increase returns and reduce risk. According to a SharesPost whitepaper, if you allocate 5% of your investments to private growth companies, you can increase the returns of a traditional portfolio by...

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