Israeli startups lead the world in revolutionary, lifesaving technology. From facilitating medical miracles to re-envisioning natural disaster response, the start-up nation is making major changes. Now, Israeli startups are tackling the different safety concerns a self-driving car might bring up from a different perspective, providing the consumer with comfort and assurance when they stop getting behind the wheel. The future of car safety is here. At CES 2019, check out the Israeli companies that will ensure a safe, smooth, autonomous ride.
From Everyday Grocery Trips to Natural Disaster Response, OurCrowd’s Startups at #CES2019 are Making an Impact
It’s January in Las Vegas, which means top innovators are showcasing their technologies at CES 2019. Not all consumers may grasp how the innovations presented at CES will, in the near future, impact their day-to-day. From grocery store trips, to customer support ordeals, to natural disaster response, startups are already making an impact in your daily life – and we’ll see a lot more of that impact in 2019.
Are you at CES? Meet these companies in person at OurCrowd’s Startup Pavilion at Booth 301 in Westgate Paradise Center. Contact us to request a meeting.
Managing Israel’s Cybersecurity: The Triple Mission of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate
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 is designed to verify – through various tools and means – that the Israeli civilian cyber space is fully protected,” says Unna.
“I underscore our responsibility for the civilian cyber space because the army dominates the military cyber sector,” adds Una. “In the civilian sphere, we operate as overall authority, working closely with all the other operational players, including the army, which has a fairly common interface with the civilian sector, especially with regard to protecting the home front during wartime. Other players are the Israeli Security Agency, whose responsible for the prevention of terrorist threats, including cyber-terrorism, and the Police, which is responsible for the criminal side.
“The goal is to make sure that the national effort in the field of cyber protection is synchronized; that nothing falls through the cracks; and that everything that needs to happen on the national level will indeed happen: that there will be no shortage of means, tools and resources – including human capital – for the various systems and that the budgets will be allocated to meet the various needs.”
To ensure Israel’s continued leadership
According to Unna, alongside the mission to ensure that the civilian cyber space is protected, the INCD works simultaneously to ensure that the Israeli digital space will serve as enabling force. Meaning that the vital flow of information between the systems continues uninterrupted and that the digital capabilities will continue to ensure Israel’s economic, social, educational and security development.
An additional, third, objective of INCD is to continue and strengthen Israeli technological development in cyberspace and to ensure that Israel is a global cyber power: “We are working to ensure Israel’s continued leadership in the global cyber arena in the technological, organizational and security aspects,” emphasizes Unna. “This means both nurturing Israeli human capital and cultivating the technological-security-academic ecosystem that has been created here in recent years and which underlies Israel’s relative advantage in the world.
“This is done by close cooperation between all the relevant bodies within Israel and external cooperation with governments and agencies around the world. For example, to encourage academic research and development, we are partners in financing six of the cyber excellence centers established in Israeli universities, each of which specializes in a different sub-field.”
Robust, Resilience and Defense
After all this, the question arises: What is Israel’s national cybersecurity strategy against the threats that lie ahead? According to Unna, this strategy rests on three layers he characterizes as: Robust, Resilience and Defense.
“The layer of Robust is similar to that of preventive medicine in the field of public health,” he explains. “This means that we are taking a proactive policy and developing security tools even before the events take place, and if we use the example of medicine, we do not wait for the disease to appear, but rather act to immunize the body so that it can deal with it in due course.
“In practical terms that means that all the relevant bodies and agencies in the economic and infrastructure sphere in the country will be equipped with clear instructions and that all essential emergency services will follow the guidelines we dictate. We have identified some 40 critical infrastructure facilities, which are core systems, and we provide them with the latest knowledge and best-practice, while ensuring that they have coping capabilities and safeguards. Those instructions are mandatory, but the government is working nowadays to include sanctions on failure to comply with regulatory obligations in the cyber area.
“As far as Resilience is concerned, we are working to ensure that once these and other systems are indeed damaged, they will be able to recover quickly and continue functioning, after they have discovered the threats and acted to minimize the risks”, adds Unna. “This reference is to all levels of civilian activity and not only to national security systems.
“In the context of Defense, we do not act directly and the treatment is mainly in the hands of various bodies involved in thwarting and neutralizing attackers.”
In the context of the civilian cyber space, Unna also mentions the work of the national CERT, manned 24/7 by expert analysts in cyber defense, providing an initial response to the handling of cyber-attacks. Next to CERT, there is a social network where reports of security events flow, and it provides its members with a target and direction to address them.
Operating a unique model
“The final quality of any national cyber-security effort is, after all, the sum of all country’s resources: human capital, the knowledge, the capabilities, the insights and the technologies developed, and we are working on developing and empowering each of these components,” concludes Unna. “In order to realize this, we are operating a unique model relies on a network of collaborations, both on the security and civil levels, with synergy between them.
“The national cyber network will increase its capabilities in the foreseeable future in order to implement its mandate to protect the civilian cyber space, while advancing national capabilities in the field and improving the ways of coping with the current and future challenges in cyberspace, as well as promoting Israel’s leadership as a hub for developing knowledge and cyber technologies.”
Join the International Homeland Security & Cyber Conference
Get a front row view of today’s technology pushing the future of cybersecurity. OurCrowd is pleased to partner with the Israel HLS & Cyber 5th International Conference & Exhibition, to be held on November 12-15, 2018, in Tel Aviv, Israel, focusing on the challenges, threats and solutions in Homeland Security and Cyber in the areas of: cybercrime, aerospace and critical infrastructures, finance, intelligence, terrorism, and in the field of homeland security.
Alongside the conference, a professional exhibition will be presented, in which 160 Israeli companies will display their innovative technologies.
Click for details and registration.
International guests can receive a $100 registration discount; use code DA626621.
Join us for the OurCrowd Annual Sukkot Event!
October is just one month away, and this year, it’s the most holiday-intensive month of the Jewish year. As you make your plans to visit the Startup Nation, we want to take the opportunity to invite you and our whole investor community to celebrate with us at OurCrowd’s Annual Sukkot Event.
Join us for breakfast on October 21st in Jerusalem for a gathering of local and visiting investors. Meet with OurCrowd’s founders, team members, and CEOs from the OurCrowd portfolio.
Enjoy superb food and drinks, wonderful company and stellar presentations on our latest investment opportunities. You will also have an opportunity to network at some featured events!
When
October 21st, 2016
8:30am-10:30am
Where
The Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Agron St. 26, Jerusalem
Space is limited. Please register here.
Registration closes October 18th
We hope to see you there and wish you a festive holiday!
For more information about OurCrowd events, please contact Investor.Services@OurCrowd.com
Note: This event is limited to accredited investors only. If you would like to invite a guest, they must first visit the OurCrowd website and click Join to register as an accredited investor.
UPDATE: New date for OurCrowd’s Global Investor Summit 2017!
We would like to let you know about some changes to our upcoming 2017 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit.
Over the past few weeks we have been working on a plan to capitalize on some cool opportunities and decided to move the date of the Summit to February 15th-16th, 2017.
The OurCrowd Summit has become the largest investor event in Jerusalem, the capital of the Startup Nation, and we hope to offer you an even stronger event in 2017.
For further details about the event and to reserve your seat, apply at summit2017.ourcrowd.com or email summit@ourcrowd.com.
OurCrowd accredited investor? You’re guaranteed a seat! RSVP now.
Please mark your calendars and join us for the 2017 Summit.
We look forward to seeing you in Jerusalem on February 15th!
Save the Date: OurCrowd’s Global Investor Summit, February 2017
We are delighted to announce our 3rd annual Global Investor Summit, scheduled for February 15-16th, 2017, in Jerusalem!
The OurCrowd Global Investor Summit is one of the leading events in the Israeli high-tech industry. Over the last two years, the Summit has brought together thousands of investors, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, venture and corporate partners, global delegations and members of the press from all over the world who gather in Jerusalem, the capital of the Startup Nation, to celebrate our collective drive for innovation. This has become the largest investor event in the history of the city.
Get a taste of OurCrowd’s innovative startups, meet fellow investors, hear from industry leaders and join us in building the future of the high-tech industry!
For further details about the event and to reserve your seat, apply at summit2017.ourcrowd.com or email summit@ourcrowd.com.
OurCrowd accredited investor? You’re guaranteed a seat! RSVP now.
Please mark your calendars and join us for the 2017 Summit.
We look forward to seeing you in Jerusalem!
FinTech enthusiasts: Will we see you at Finovate this May?
FinTech investors, developers and enthusiasts – will we see you at Finovate this year?
OurCrowd is excited to announce that we will be launching a new product offering during a live demo at Finovate, the annual showcase for cutting-edge banking and financial technology in a unique demo-only format.
We invite you to join us on May 10 in San Jose, California, as our Chief Product Officer Shai Ben-Tovim takes the stage to present OurCrowd’s future of investing.
At Finovate, OurCrowd will launch new tools to empower investors by making investment discovery, discussion and decisions more insightful, robust and connected.
Other brands joining Finovate’s spring conference include IBM, Intuit, Lending Club, Apple, Google and dozens more.
Meet Shai Ben-Tovim, OurCrowd’s Chief Product Officer: He is leading the OurCrowd team in developing the strategy, platform and user experience that generate value and support scale in startup crowd investing. He is responsible for the ongoing evolution of our platform and overseeing all marketing, product management and technology activities. Shai has been delivering great products for over 15 years and has held senior positions in strategy, product and technology management across multiple industries.
Interested in joining us at Finovate? Get in touch to inquire about an OurCrowd Investor discount.
Experience Passover in the Startup Nation with OurCrowd
Passover is just one month away, and as you make your plans to visit Startup Nation, we want to take the opportunity to invite our investor community to celebrate with us at OurCrowd’s Annual Passover Event.
Join us for breakfast on April 28th in Jerusalem and meet with OurCrowd’s team, fellow accredited investors, and founders & CEOs from the OurCrowd portfolio.
There will good food, great drinks, wonderful company and stellar presentations, including some of our latest investment opportunities.
When
April 28, 2016
8:30am-10:30am
Where
Jerusalem
Space is limited. Please register here.
Registration closes Monday, April 18th
We hope to see you there and wish you a festive holiday!
For more information about OurCrowd events, please contact Investor.Services@OurCrowd.com
ABOUT OURCROWD
OurCrowd is one of the world’s leading equity crowdfunding platforms for accredited investors to invest in Israeli and global companies. Managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects opportunities, invests its own capital, and brings startups to its accredited membership of 10,000 global investors. OurCrowd investors must meet stringent accreditation criteria and invest a minimum of $10,000 per deal of their choice. OurCrowd provides post-investment support to its portfolio companies, assigning industry experts as mentors and taking board seats. OurCrowd has raised over $200M for its 90+ portfolio companies, which include leading companies, such as mPrest, enVerid, Surgical Theater, Borro, Zebra, Consumer Physics (SCiO), BioCatch, and ReWalk, OurCrowd’s first portfolio company to complete a successful IPO on the NASDAQ. Visit us online at: www.OurCrowd.com
For more information and to RSVP, please click here.