These Israelis are on the case
of games and we especially like to win these games and be one step ahead of the adversary.”
He adds: “Security experts have been saying for years that our exposure to internet threats is far more serious than people realise. We are now seeing this materialise in all sectors, and I’m afraid that these threats are going to increase dramatically. The IT security sector is becoming more and more important.”
GUARDIUM
Guardium is one of the bigger players. Founded in Israel in 2002, it was bought by IBM seven years later for $225 million, one of the most lucrative IT security deals of the past five years. Now based in Massachusetts — some business is outsourced to their Ramat Gan offices — the company has been integrated into IBM’S security division.
Guardium was one of the first companies to address the datasecurity gap by delivering a service that both protects data in real-time and automates the compliance auditing process. Clients include the top five global banks, Microsoft and top government agencies. The company
raised a total of $21 million in three rounds of financing. Investors include Cisco, Cedar Fund and Ascent Venture Partners. The deal with IBM was believed to be one of the most rewarding for the VCS, expected to make over ten times their investments. IBM revenues reached $106.9 billion in 2011, up seven per cent on 2010, with software segment revenues comprising $24.9 billion, an increase of 11 percent.
A spokesman for IBM said: “IBM sees the opportunity to provide security software and services to clients worldwide as a $94 billion opportunity. It sees security as a growth area and allows us the ability to leverage IBM’S renowned research, services, hardware and software to help our clients protect their computing environment.”
CYBER-ARK
Founded in 1999 by a team of security technologists in Israel, it specialises in protecting and managing privileged users, applications and sensitive information to improve compliance, productivity and protect organisations against internal and external threats.
Cyber-ark works with over 1,000 customers, including more than 35 percent of the Fortune 50. Clients include BT, Deutsche Bank and Hershey’s. It prides itself on its award-winning “privileged identity management”, one of the fastest growing segments within the $4 billion identity and access-management market.
Headquartered in the US, Cyber-ark is backed by some of the world’s most successful venture capitalists, including Jerusalem Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, Seed Capital Partners and JP Morgan/chase Partners. Co-founder Udi Mokady, a veteran of a Military Intelligence unit, is the company’s president and chief executive, while Chen Bitan heads the Israeli office.
SKYBOX SECURITY
Skybox Security helps companies and government agencies monitor and reduce the security risks that could lead to an attack.
Founded in Israel in 2002, the now-california-based company specialises in proactive security management, providing security professionals with tools that can be used automatically on a daily basis to find risks.
A relatively new player, Skybox grew by nearly 100 per
Skybox’s Gidi Cohen
cent in 2011 versus 2010. Internationalexpansionplans are on the agenda for this year.
S k y b o x h a s around60employees, half of which areatther&dfacility in Israel. Clients include leading banks, companies and several government and defense organisations. It is backed by Susquehanna Growth Equity, Benchmark Capital, Carmel Ventures, Valley Ventures, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Rembrandt Ventures. Chief executive Gidi Cohen said: “Many large security companies operate in, or originated in Israel, which creates a very experienced talent pool for technology innovation. In addition, the information security sector is a natural fit for a country with strong entrepreneurial culture, high awareness of the importance of security, investment support, and strong ties to security and technology companies
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