Some technically minded veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces have started new lives bringing cybersecurity startups into being. Their project is called Team8.
Qualcomm Ventures has taken notice and recently invested an undisclosed sum in the project, Team8 announced earlier this month. The two companies will work together on projects involving cybersecurity, the data center and the Internet of Things. “Team8 is a world-class cybersecurity organization and together we see a number of great opportunities on the horizon,” Qualcomm Ventures chief Quinn Li said in a prepared statement.
So far, Tel Aviv-based Team8 — billed as a cybersecurity think tank and venture creation foundry — has launched two companies. Illusive Networks specializes in deception technology used to detect targeted attacks. Claroty produces an industrial security platform that secures critical industrial infrastructure: power grids, steel mills, chemical, food and beverage factories and oil refineries, for example.
Though much cybersecurity applies to commercial and institutional computer systems, the lines between commercial, government and defense applications get blurry. It’s not just that armed conflict today includes a cyber component that can target a country’s military assets, industrial base and infrastructure. It’s more subtle than that. A country can create plenty of mischief for an adversary, yet stop short of a shooting war, with internet snooping, industrial espionage, leaks of sensitive documents and the sabotage of industrial assets with the introduction of a little malicious code.
Former leaders of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Intelligence & Technology Unit 8200 founded Team8 in 2014. Unit 8200 has been billed as the Israeli equivalent of the NSA, or National Security Agency.
Microsoft Ventures also recently invested in Team8, and Citigroup came on as a strategic partner.
Qualcomm Ventures, part of Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), has offices around the world, including one in Israel.
Island Fill Up
om the U.S. Navy: Build gasoline infrastructure on an island. Gilbane Inc., a Rhode Island construction company with a local office in Del Mar, recently received a $7.2 million Navy task order to update the motor fuel facilities on San Clemente Island, which is administered as a San Diego Navy base. The island is 75 miles off the North County coast and visible when the weather isn’t too hazy.
Between now and July 2018, Gilbane will install a 10,000-gallon temporary motor gas tank, install a fuel pipeline, replace permanent motor gas storage tanks, demolish a bulk storage tank and install related systems and piping.
Laser Could Ride to The Rescue
The U.S. Army says it is considering using lasers to destroy rockets, artillery, cruise missiles, unmanned aircraft and threats on the ground. General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is working on the laser, called MEHEL (Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser), which will be mounted on an eight-wheeled Stryker armored vehicle. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. says it’s helping with the project.
LRAD Product Packs An Audio Punch
4S Ranch-based LRAD Corp. has introduced a new acoustic hailing device, essentially a high-volume loudspeaker that can send sound in a single direction. The company said its new model 1950XL is lighter than previous models, generates a higher audio output and can send intelligible messages as far as 5 kilometers or 3 miles.
