BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday announced the establishment of a national cyber park in Beer Sheba, a new campus which will incorporate multi-nationals, start-ups and research institutes to pioneer international cyber-defence.

Netanyahu was speaking at the opening of Cyber Tech 2014, the first international cyber conference in Israel, which is being attended by more than 5,000 people. Netanyahu said that the cyber park, called Cyber Spark, will mean that “Beer Sheba will not only be the cyber capital of Israel but one of the most important places in the cyber-security field in the world.”

Several significant international companies have already agreed to locate in the new cyber park including EMC, Deutsche Telekom, Lockheed-Martin and IBM will establish a research and development facility. The cyber park will also house a high school for science and technology and a cyber studies development centre.

The new facility will look to fuse Israel’s technological prowess with its expertise in defence. Netanyahu explained, “There will always be states and non-states… that will make it their goal to violate our systems… But that doesn’t mean that we cannot bring a series of norms to mitigate this problem.”

Underscoring the importance placed by Israel on the cyber-defence industry, the recently created National Cyber Bureau and the Chief Scientist’s Office has allocated almost £14million over the next two years to Israeli companies in the field. Robert Easton, vice president of Global Solutions at Lockheed-Martin told the Jerusalem Post, “I’ve never seen such collaboration in the incubation of new technology… Israel is one of the best when we look at cyber defence, and it also is one of the best incubators of new technology and innovation.”

The new cyber park at Beer Sheba is also part of the Israeli government’s efforts to regenerate the south of the country. Many IDF facilities and personnel are in the process of moving south and new housing and facilities are schedule to follow.