Israel to invest NIS 100m in cyber-security fund Kidma
The new iteration of the program, dubbed Kidma 2.0, will support the cyber security industries in a number of ways.
By NIV ELISUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2015 00:46The logo for the cyber hacking group ‘Anonymous’ is seen on computer screens.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Kidma, the three-year-old government program aimed at promoting cybersecurity, is set to enter a new phase and see its budget expanded to NIS 100 million, the Office of the Chief Scientist and National Cyber Bureau announced Monday.“The importance of maintaining the Israeli cyber industry’s leadership position internationally is only growing, and as such we need to promote new and unique technologies in a creative way,” said Chief Scientist Avi Hasson.“The successful collaboration between the National Cyber Bureau and the Office of the Chief Scientist has proven that a national effort in the hi-tech sector is critical to the success of the private sector and to fulfilling the economic potential of the Israeli cyber industry,” he added.The new iteration of the program, dubbed Kidma 2.0, will support the cybersecurity industries in three ways.Every year, it will offer two to four long-term grants of up to four years for companies developing technology deemed to be groundbreaking or disruptive.In addition, it will offer business support to help companies grow, support them in putting together their beta sites, and wade through regulation and bureaucracy, Finally, it will promote cooperation with industry on a wider scale, which is meant to help set industry-wide and even global standards.Hason said the current version of Kidma was a huge success, and awarded NIS 136m. in grants over two-and-a-half years. The Chief Scientist’s Office added NIS 36 million beyond the original budget.“At a [time] when the entire world is trying to cope with increasingly dangerous cyber threats, the Israeli cyber industry is a global source of innovation in a field that craves new solutions,” said Dr. Eviatar Matania, the National Cyber Bureau chief.Local companies, he noted, accounted for more than a quarter of global exits in the field of cybersecurity in the past three years, while two listed on NASDAQ and several more raised tens of millions of dollars.
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