At Davos, Netanyahu pushes need for cyber security

Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about cyber defense with CEOs and VPs of major international companies.

One highlight of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's participation in the World Economic Forum at Davos has been his 20-minute appearance on CNN's One on One program with commentator Fareed Zakaria and a series of political and economic meetings. The Prime Minister's Office said that Netanyahu had been one of very few of the many heads of state attending the conference to appear on the program. However, the main focus of Netanyahu's efforts at Davos has been to stress the importance of cyber security in a world relaying increasingly on Internet communications.

Netanyahu's schedule today began with meetings with US Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, and further meetings are scheduled with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, recently elected Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Among global economic leaders, Netanyahu is expected to meet today with Dell chairman Michael Dell and Eric Schmidt. Yesterday, he met with HP CEO Meg Whitman and Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick. Netanyahu talked with Whitman about future HP investments in Israel.

Netanyahu also held a meeting today with CEOs and senior officials from the global cyber industry and spoke with them about cyber defense. Companies taking part in the meeting included Sony, Hitachi, Lenovo, Intel, IBM, and HP. At this meeting, Netanyahu presented the Israeli model for cyber industry development, resting on cooperation between the defense and academic establishments and the private sector. He said that this special model could serve as an example to other countries seeking to develop a cyber industry. Netanyahu described the establishment of the National Cyber Defense Authority and the plans to establish a cyber center in the Negev.

Also participating in the meeting were Prime Minister's Office director general Eli Groner, Israel National Cyber Bureau Head Dr. Eviatar Matania, and National Economic Council chairman Prof. Avi Simhon. 2015 figures for the Israeli cyber industry published today by the National Cyber Bureau show exports totaling $3.5 billion, a 5% share of the estimated $75 billion global cyber market. Israel had a 7% share of the cyber products market.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 21, 2016

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016

Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
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