Weekly Innovations from ISRAEL #9: Cyber Guardians

2024 RSA Conference Special Edition

Welcome to the 9th edition of Weekly Innovations from ISRAEL, where we dive into the cutting-edge solutions emerging from this nation's thriving tech ecosystem. This week, on this special edition for 2024 RSA Conference our spotlight falls on cybersecurity - a domain in which Israel has firmly established itself as a global powerhouse.

Personally, cybersecurity has been the overarching theme of my work, a calling that has consumed me since those early, pioneering days of the internet. Back then, who could have foreseen the intricate, high-stakes battleground it would become? Through this journey, I witnessed Israeli companies pushing the boundaries of innovation in this field.

You see, Israel's prowess in cybersecurity isn't merely a matter of technological talent; it's a story of people forged by adversity and a culture that refuses to back down in the face of threats. This spirit has given rise to a tightly woven cybersecurity ecosystem, a community bound by a shared mission – to stay one step ahead of those who would do us harm.?

In this edition, we explore three emerging cyber titans: From revolutionizing the browser experience to illuminating the murky depths of organizational assets, and unraveling the intricate secrets of data, these companies are redefining the frontiers of cybersecurity. Their stories are a testament to the ingenuity and audacity that define Israeli innovation.

Island: Sailing to Secure Shores with a Fortified Enterprise Browser

I’d like to start with an admission: I actually worked with the NCSA Mosaic browser, and later with Netscape 1.0. Did any of you too experience this prehistoric internet era? Do you remember the blinking text and almost comical fonts used by the websites of those days? This makes me feel like a dinosaur ??.?

Since then, we seem to take our browsers for granted, and companies are not aware of the risks stemming from today's browser-centric ways of working nor the fact that something better is possible. Despite layers of security controls, the browser itself has remained an open window into the enterprise. That's what makes a company like Island and its recent $175 million funding round so interesting to me. Is it possible to reinvent the browser?

Island, co-founded by Michael Fey and Dan Amiga , is doing just that by introducing an "Enterprise Browser" - embedding critical security capabilities directly into the browsing experience itself.

By building Zero Trust principles into the browser, Island provides a secure, controlled environment for accessing enterprise apps and data. IT gets granular visibility and control over the last mile of user-data interaction. Policies are consistently enforced regardless of app, network, or location. And sensitive data never leaves the secure browser environment.

It's an approach that aligns perfectly with the zero trust security philosophies I advocate at CTERA . Island's ability to authenticate every user, assess device posture, secure access to resources, and prevent data leakage finally brings the browser into the zero trust fold.

With this $175M round doubling its valuation to $3 billion, Island is well-capitalized to execute on its visionary solution for making the browser a core platform for secure work. It's an Israeli startup revolutionizing digital workplace security in a very compelling way.

Axonius: Illuminating the Cybersecurity Asset Landscape

As I mentioned above, I come from a cybersecurity background, and I can attest that one of the most serious problems large organizations face is a lack of visibility into their actual assets. A pioneering Israeli company, Axonius , created by Dean Sysman , Ofri Shur , and Avidor Bartov , addresses this issue by providing IT teams with greatly needed visibility into their infrastructure.

Axonius is a stellar example for Israeli cyber success; the company recently secured an impressive $200 million extension to its Series E funding round. Its rapid growth, reaching over $100 million in ARR in just 4.5 years, is proof of the demand for its solution and the exceptional talent behind it.

At the core of Axonius' platform is its ability to serve as a system of record for all digital infrastructure. By seamlessly connecting to hundreds of data sources and aggregating, normalizing, and correlating data about devices, identities, cloud services, software, and security controls, Axonius provides a comprehensive and unified view of an organization's entire asset landscape.

This approach empowers IT and security teams with two key capabilities: Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) and SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM). CAASM helps organizations discover all assets, identify security gaps, and automate remediation actions to reduce their attack surface. SSPM enables visibility and control over SaaS applications, mitigating risks associated with shadow IT and ensuring compliance.

Axonius embodies the spirit of Israeli technological excellence, addressing one of the most pressing challenges in cybersecurity - managing and securing the ever-expanding digital footprint.

Cyera: Unraveling Data's Secrets with AI Superpowers

While Axonius tackles the visibility challenge from an asset perspective, there is another critical angle to the enterprise visibility problem - data. The harsh reality is most companies don't truly know their data - where sensitive information lives, who has access to it, and what risks it poses. This glaring blind spot leaves organizations alarmingly vulnerable to costly data breaches and compliance failures. But a revolutionary Israeli startup, Cyera is turning heads with its innovative approach to solving this foundational cybersecurity challenge.

(PS - no relation to my company CTERA , despite the one-letter difference that will surely confuse many!)

Cyera, the brainchild of Yotam Segev and Tamar Bar-Ilan , has just secured a massive $300 million funding round, valuing the company at a staggering $1.4 billion.

What sets this company apart is its AI-powered platform that can discover, analyze, and classify sensitive data across an organization's entire digital landscape. No more fragmented solutions or agent headaches – Cyera's cloud-native approach leverages native APIs for a unified, real-time view.

But Cyera doesn't simply find data; it understands it. Machine learning accurately classifies structured and unstructured data, providing rich context about the information. This contextual intelligence allows prioritizing remediation by business risk, detecting threats rapidly, and enabling surgical incident response.

Cyera's fast growth validates their approach to solving one of cybersecurity's most critical challenges. Congratulations to Yotam, Tamar, and the entire Cyera team.

As we conclude this edition of Weekly Innovations from ISRAEL, one common thread emerges: pushing the boundaries of cybersecurity. From Island's reinvention of the browser as a secure digital workspace to Axonius' holistic visibility into organizational assets and Cyera's AI-powered data classification capabilities, these companies exemplify the ingenuity that can arise from adversity.

As we look ahead, one thing is certain: Israeli companies will continue to defend the digital realm and blaze new trails in this ever-evolving field.

Until next week, stay vigilant!