National Cyber Directorate head Yigal Unna (picured below) revealed plans Thursday to launch an around-the-clock hotline to address cyber emergencies in real time.
Unna announced the plan at NexTech 2018, an annual gathering for local and international cyber professionals held at the Gav Yam- Ben-Gurion University Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to BGU's Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva. The conference is one of Israel's premier events bringing together cyber professionals from Israel and around the world to discuss industry trends, network and to survey emerging technologies presented by start-up companies.
Attendees included delegations from China, India, Cameroon, the Czech Republic and England, in addition to the members of Mishmash, a Robotics Team from BGU's Jusidman Science Center for Youth which took first place in the national First Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition earlier this year and represented Israel at the World Championships in Robotics in Houston, United States. Technologies on display included nanosatellites, agritech solutions, drone technology and more.
BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi (pictured below) told the gathering that the placement of the Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to the BGU campus was a vote of confidence both BGU's academic excellence as well as Beer-Sheva region's ability to sustain the epicenter of Israel's cyber defense industry. She added that the partnership between BGU and Gav Yam real estate development corporation was more than a dry business relationship.
“What happens here at BGU is for the benefit of the entire State of Israel," Prof. Carmi told the gathering, which included Vice-President and Dean for Research and Development BGU Prof. Dan Blumberg, Prof. Eviatar Matania, the first Director-General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, Amir Rapaport, Editor-in-Chief of IsraelDefense and an A-list of local and international technology professionals.
“But the university-private sector infrastructure we've created here is more than just a formal business agreement. It is an expression of shared values and goals between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Gav Yam. And of course, the IDF Technology Corps will add an integral piece to the puzzle when they complete their move south in the coming years," Prof. Carmi answered.
About NEXTECH 2018
The NexTech international conference on advanced technologies provides a meeting ground for key industry and academia representatives from around the world, engaged in cutting-edge technological development.
The conference is a joint initiative of the CyberTech global industry event, Gav-Yam Negev Tech Park, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the city of Beer-Sheba.
Following the success of last year's conference, attended by more than 1000 participants from more than 17 countries and 30 companies, this year's conference hosted leading international and Israeli companies and startups along with major research institutes. Speakers include senior industry leaders, high-ranking government officials, prominent academicians and investors, who addressed a range of topics including cybersecurity, Advanced Robotics, how to build a sustainable technology community ecosystem, innovation and more.
