Israel cyber consortium lands multi-million dollar Latin America deal

The Israeli Cyber Companies Consortium (IC³), a group of Israeli cyberesecurity firms set up last year to provide end-to-end cyber solutions at a national level, has won a contract worth “tens of millions of dollars” to set up a national cyber center in a country in Latin America.

The IC³, led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), will supply the unnamed country with a strategic, national-level cyber-defense center which will include risk evaluation, establishment of an advanced monitor and defense center against cyberattacks, an information-sharing infrastructure, and a cyber-training program. The solutions provided will combine the abilities of the various Israeli members of the consortium, including Elta Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of IAI, Verint Systems Ltd. and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

ELTA, a subsidiary of IAI, will oversee the project’s implementation; supply a national-grade solution for the identification, investigation and early detection of cyberattacks; accompany and train personnel and establish a public information-sharing platform in the cyber domain, IAI said in a statement.

Verint will deploy its threat protection and response software for advanced cyberattacks, Check Point will supply its threat prevention solutions and real time actionable intelligence, and other members of the consortium like ClearSky and CyberX will also provide their cyber intelligence and detection solutions.

IAI’s Caçador MALE UAV-2 has received Brazil’s Ministry of Defense approval as a Strategic Defense Product (Courtesy)

The IC³ was set up, under the endorsement of the Israeli government, to address cybersecurity needs at a national and government level.

“Combining technological cyber solutions from an assortment of leading Israeli companies allows us from both the international and technological level to offer a comprehensive and integrated solution — this is a case when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Esti Peshin, general manager of IAI’s Cyber Division. “The endorsement of the Israeli government is critical to the success of the consortium, and we are confident that the model applied in Latin America will continue to prove itself in the future.”

“In light of cyber threats targeting nations and states, we are seeing a growing demand by countries to protect themselves with a holistic cyber infrastructure,” said Amnon Bar-Lev, president of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Separately, IAI, the nation’s largest aerospace and defense company, also said it has won a contract worth “tens of millions of dollars” to supply border protection systems in a South American country.

IAI will supply land and ground systems, unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) vehicles and a variety of radar and other sensors to the unidentified South American client.

Phase one of the contract will be carried out by IAI’s subsidiary ELTA Systems Ltd., and includes border protection systems for four separate border crossings which are characterized by different terrain, IAI said in a statement.

IAI’s ELI-3302 Granite ISRV vehicles that will be supplied to South American country (Courtesy)

IAI will also supply the client with several unmanned systems, designed for a variety of missions including intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, with a range of up to 150 kilometers and endurance of up to 15 hours. Mini-systems and a variety of sensors, manufactured in various IAI divisions, and radars, for border protection and a variety of other uses, will also be supplied.

In addition, the client has also acquired IAI electro-optical technology, vehicles, observation towers and a cyber-system for identification and early detection of various threats along the border and real time sensing of information.

IAI also said its unmanned vehicle, the Caçador MALE UAV-2, has received Brazil’s Ministry of Defense approval as a Strategic Defense Product.