BGU Cyber Security Spin-Off Raises Big Money
BGU Cyber Security Spin-Off Raises Big Money
January 30, 2017
Last year, Israeli startup “Secret Double Octopus” was launched. It’s based on research conducted at BGU by Prof. Shlomi Dolev, the Rita Altura Trust Chair in Computer Sciences and chief security officer at Secret Double Octopus (SDO), and his postdoc researcher Dr. Shimrit Tzur-David. Prof. Dolev started SDO to address cyber security issues that are not a major threat yet, but will be in the near future.
Prof. Shlomi Dolev
“Today’s encryption algorithms are robust because we do not yet have enough processing power to crack them,” says Prof. Dolev. “In contrast, our algorithm has a mathematical proof according to which it is uncrackable – even if you had unlimited computing power or quantum computing. The algorithm is called “secret sharing” which is now adapted to make communication networks secure.”
The idea is akin to shredding a piece of paper and then reassembling it. The information is broken down and then sent along different routes and can only be reassembled if you have all the pieces.
Secret Double Octopus has just raised $6 million from prominent venture capital funds and investors, including Jerusalem Venture Partners, Liberty Media’s Israel Venture Fund, Iris Capital, Benhamou Global Ventures, and angel investor Yaniv Tal. The range of investors indicates wide global interest, and SDO is seeking to expand into Europe.
According to Netta Cohen, chief executive officer of BGN Technologies, the University’s technology transfer company, “Ben-Gurion University is the leader in academic research on information systems, cyber security, databases, and cloud. We facilitate the connection between innovative research and entrepreneurship and startups.
“We do this through partnerships and collaborations with accelerators and incubators, and forging real partnerships between different agencies – academia, businesses, municipality, and government – to develop and promote Beer-Sheva and the Southern part of Israel.”
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