Cybersecurity and its relevant regulations come naturally to Or Lavi, Adv., CEO and founder of Primesec, which provides information security consulting, privacy and cyberprotection for organizations and companies. Lavi served in the IDF’s legendary 8200 intelligence corps units, which is responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption, and holds a BA degree in computer science, a law degree, and a master’s degree in law.
Primesec, which he founded in 2010, provides information security consultation to companies in the capital markets, the financial sector, hi-tech and startup companies in the biomedical field, as well as government, municipalities, and the academic sector.
Interestingly, two-thirds of the company’s thirty employees are women. Fully half of the staff come from fields unrelated to cybersecurity, such as law, industry and engineering. The company does not have centralized offices. Instead, the employees work at home or onsite.
Lavi explains that while companies in the defense and communication sectors are aware of cybersecurity needs and privacy regulations, many other organizations in Israel, such as retail companies, NGOs and municipalities, are not fully protected in these areas. The information security regulations put into effect in 2018 influenced all public, business and corporate sectors in the country and tripled the size of the information security sector in Israel, he says.
The pandemic, adds Lavi, has also influenced information security and privacy. “Since Covid,” he says, “people are using more digital channels for communication. Not all of these channels are secured with proper measures.” Some applications and websites have not been sufficiently configured, and as a result, he says, hackers have been able to penetrate systems and extract data.
Lavi notes that while there was an initial decrease in company sales at the very beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Primesec’s sales have risen steadily, and in 2020 and 2021, revenue grew to the highest levels since the company’s creation in 2010.
While Primesec deals with corporate and institutional customers, Lavi offers a word of advice for individuals on how to best defend themselves from hackers. “It’s about awareness. Check the SMS you have received, the WhatsApp that came in, and the email that appeared in your inbox. Make sure that the source is familiar.” Lavi recommends that people use strong passwords, keep their antivirus programs up-to-date, and back up their data frequently. “If you back up every week or every day, it can save you if you are attacked,” he says.
What are Primesec’s plans for the future? “We will continue to provide quality, agile and fast service to our customers,” says Lavi. “We hope to grow in Israel and expand into new sectors, as well as reach new markets abroad. Our goal is continuing our steady growth while maintaining our quality of service.”
This article is taken from The Jerusalem Post Israel Technology and Innovation Magazine 2022. To read the entire magazine, click here.
This article was written in cooperation with Primesec