Category Archives: Unit 8200

Ex-NSA employees criticize Mike Rogers’ role with Israeli venture firm

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Some former National Security Agency officials have strongly criticized ex-NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers’ decision to join the advisory board of a venture capital firm that is closely linked with an Israeli intelligence agency. The company, Team8, announced Rogers’ position last week. Founded by former members of the elite Israeli army intelligence group known as Unit 8200, Team8 researches cybersecurity market demand, raises investments from big tech companies, and creates startups based on those demand signals. It also describes itself as a think tank, and does its own threat research. Rogers, who headed NSA and U.S. Cyber Command for four years before stepping down this past May, will advise companies in Team8’s portfolio as well as companies under development. The retired admiral will be “instrumental in helping strategize” Team8’s expansion in the United States, the firm said in a statement last week. Rogers’ decision to join Team8 irked Robert Lee, a former Air Force officer and former NSA employee. […]

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Multi-factor authentication provider Silverfort raises $11.5 million Series A

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Silverfort, a multi-factor authentication provider with roots in Israel’s famed cyber-espionage unit, announced on Monday that it’s getting an infusion of $11.5 million in its Series A investment round, led by TLV partners. The company, founded in 2016, provides companies with the ability to implement multi-factor authentication for their networks, cloud environments and devices. Silverfort says it doesn’t matter whether the asset the customer wants to protect natively supports multi-factor authentication; its product can integrate regardless. “Our goal is to enable strong authentication across all enterprise assets without reducing productivity. Existing authentication solutions can no longer handle the scale, diversity and dynamic nature of today’s networks,” said Silverfort CEO Hed Kovetz in a statement. Kovetz and co-founders Matan Fattal and Yaron Kassner are alumni of the Israeli Defense Forces’ clandestine Unit 8200, according to their company bios. A partnership Silverfort started last month makes the service more seamless on systems protected by cybersecurity […]

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Israeli startup touting ‘the longest range’ Wi-Fi spying tool in the world

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Israel has a reputation for being home to some of the most capable offensive hacking firms on the planet. These shadowy companies sell wares to governments all over the world, and the market grows more and more competitive every year. Case in point: The launch of a new Israeli firm called WiSpear, which is sparking a new rivalry in the lucrative business of Wi-Fi interception. This tech is used by police, intelligence and military agencies, which pay hackers to break into the networks of chosen targets. WiSpear, launched in 2016 by a former commander in the Special Operations Unit of the Intelligence Corps in the Israeli Defense Force, sells the “SpearHead Wi-Fi Man-in-the-middle platform, ” promising to intercept a targeted Wi-Fi signal — and then steal data like social media passwords and other communications — at “the longest interception ranges” and with a design that can “integrate with any infection system.” The kilometers-long range is […]

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New cybersecurity partnership makes it easier for Israeli companies to sell to U.S. authorities

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The United States and Israel unveiled a new cybersecurity partnership on Monday aimed at “stopping adversaries in networks and identifying ways to hold bad actors responsible,” according to White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert. Bossert announced the “Israeli-U.S. bilateral cyber working group” at the opening of the Cyber Week 2017 conference in Tel Aviv. The group, which will meet this week, will be led by Rob Joyce, the White House’s cybersecurity coordinator, and Eviatar Matania, the director general of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate. Members will include an unspecified number of representatives from across the U.S. and Israeli military, criminal justice and foreign relations establishments. Joyce previously ran the U.S. National Security Agency’s Tailored Access Operations (NSA TAO), the spy agency’s offensive division. Matania has helped shape Israeli cybersecurity policy for the past several years but has a private sector pedigree that includes tech and venture capital. “The meetings this week will focus on a […]

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How Israel Built One Of The World’s Most Powerful Cyber Armies

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The small country has assembled one of the best team of government hackers ever, and fostered a successful private cybersecurity sector. Continue reading How Israel Built One Of The World’s Most Powerful Cyber Armies→

How Israel Built One Of The World’s Most Powerful Cyber Armies

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The small country has assembled one of the best team of government hackers ever, and fostered a successful private cybersecurity sector. Continue reading How Israel Built One Of The World’s Most Powerful Cyber Armies→