Announcing “CyberSpark” in Beer-Sheva
Announcing “CyberSpark” in Beer-Sheva
January 28, 2014
Business & Management, Homeland & Cyber Security, Press Releases
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, January 28, 2014 – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) President Rivka Carmi announced yesterday the establishment of a national cyber complex in Beer-Sheva, called CyberSpark.
“Beer-Sheva will not only be the cyber capital of Israel, but one of the most important places in the cyber security field in the world,” Prime Minister Netanyahu declared yesterday at the opening of a two-day Cybertech International Conference and Exhibition in Tel Aviv, sponsored by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the National Cyber Bureau, the Israel Defense Journal, and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi (R); Vice President of IBM, Steve Mills (2-R); and Mayor of Beer-Sheva, Ruvik Danilovich (L) at Cybertech 2014. Photo credit: Kobi Gideon
“Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a leading center of innovation in information security, partnering with industry, security agencies and the government in a variety of tasks to protect Israel’s digital borders,” said BGU President Rivka Carmi.
“We are at the forefront of cyber security research and are training the security researchers of tomorrow.”
View a brief video clip of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks here >>
At the Cybertech Conference, Fortune 500 companies Lockheed Martin and IBM both announced they would invest in CyberSpark R&D facilities, joining Deutsche Telekom, EMC, RSA, and many startups at CyberSpark in Beer-Sheva’s new Advanced Technologies Park (ATP) and at BGU.
“I think it’s phenomenal what they’re trying to do. I’ve never seen such a collaboration in the incubation of new technology,” Lockheed Martin Vice President of Global Solutions Robert Eastman told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Israel is one of the best when we look at cyberdefense, and it also is one of the best incubators of new technology and innovation.”
The 15-building ATP will be the only type of complex of its kind in the world that includes Fortune 500 companies and cyber-incubators, academic researchers and educational facilities, as well as national government and security agencies.
Together, they will produce a complete eco-system with all the components for global leadership in the cyber field: a common physical space, allowing the pooling of resources, shared technology infrastructure construction and a synergy of specialists, researchers and students.
“The new CyberSpark complex is a significant step ahead for BGU in the global cybersecurity playing field,” explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president, American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
“It is attracting the world’s largest companies, who will need to hire our graduates and researchers and fund our startups, as well as have a positive impact on the ‘brain drain’ that has been an issue for Israel,” said Krakow.
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.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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