BICOM

Britain and Israel will jointly fund three new research projects on cyber security, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude announced on Tuesday. The £1.2 million in joint funding will go to three projects – collaborations between Bristol and Bar Ilan universities, University College London and Bar Ilan, and Kent and Haifa universities.

Maude congratulated the research teams and said, “On a recent visit to Israel I saw for myself the strength of cyber and digital innovation and how it drives a thriving Israeli digital economy. Cyber security is a shared global threat and I’m pleased that we are deepening our research relationship.”

The move follows the signing by Britain and Israel of a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral digital cooperation in March 2014. Britain and Israel are also both founding members of D5, a group of five of the most digitally advanced governments in the world, which held an inaugural summit in London in December 2014.

Israel is widely recognised as a world leader in digital technology and known for its innovative hi-tech sector and dynamic start-up business culture. Hi-tech products are an important element of Israel’s export orientated economy. UK-Israel trade has been growing rapidly in recent years, and grew 26 per cent in the first half of 2014, reaching record levels.