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PayPal and BGU Announce Cyber Security Research Collaboration

PayPal and BGU Announce Cyber Security Research Collaboration

December 1, 2016

Homeland & Cyber Security, Press Releases

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and PayPal have announced a new partnership to conduct joint research and development in the fields of big data, machine learning and cyber security. It is the first such collaboration between PayPal and an Israeli university.

“This partnership will allow PayPal to leverage BGU’s top-notch researchers and years of groundbreaking research,” says Matan Parnes, PayPal’s general manager in Israel. “The collaboration with BGU will further strengthen PayPal’s global leadership in the use of machine learning and big data for cyber security, fraud detection and risk management, allowing us to continue to offer the most cutting-edge technologies that enable safe payments to more than 192 million customers worldwide.”

Prof. Dan Blumberg, BGU vice president and dean for research and development adds, “We are eager to extend our relationship with PayPal and help them safeguard the privacy of their hundreds of millions of clients. BGU is a recognized global leader in cyber security, big data and machine learning research and we look forward to putting that expertise to work to meet the unique challenges posed by PayPal’s needs.”

paypal-agreement

Netta Cohen, BGN Technologies CEO (left), and Matan Parnes, PayPal’s general manager in Israel, sign the agreement at the Nextech Conference at the Gav Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park in Beer-Sheva.

PayPal’s involvement in Israel started with the acquisition of Israel- and Palo Alto-based company Fraud Sciences in 2008, and the establishment of a global risk and data sciences R&D center in Tel Aviv. Over the last eight years, this center has delivered cutting-edge technologies in the fields of fraud detection, data sciences and big data. PayPal’s acquisition of CyActive in 2015, which blossomed at JVP and BGU’s incubator, was another major step in this journey, resulting in the establishment of a global security products center in Beer-Sheva’s Advanced Technologies Park, adjacent to BGU.

“Beer-Sheva has become a global cyber security hub in recent years, attracting major multi-national corporations,” says Netta Cohen, chief executive officer of BGN Technologies Ltd., the technology transfer company of BGU. “PayPal’s presence here allows it to tap into this eco-system’s cutting-edge technology and top talent.”

The new agreement further strengthens and extends the ongoing relationship between PayPal and BGU, who already cooperate in training, talent development and recruitment.

BGU is at the center of Beer-Sheva’s transformation into the country’s cyber capital, where leading multinational corporations leverage BGU’s expertise to generate innovative R&D. A third of Israel’s engineers graduate from BGU, with that number destined to rise as the IDF moves south and sends its brightest to join the ranks of BGU’s student body. To accommodate that growth, BGU has launched an ambitious campaign to double the size of its main campus.

See article in Jewish Business News >>

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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