SDBR: Israel has been called a "start-up nation". Did that promote the development of cybersecurity in Israel?

Ram Levi *: Israel has become a Cyber ​​start-up nation because the imperative of security has become essential due to the country’s growing reliance on its digital systems. This primary importance means the required full engagement of all stakeholders on cybersecurity issues, all under the direct leadership of the Prime Minister [Chief Executive in the Israeli parliamentary system]. Accordingly, this new security priority has been rightly prioritized by members of the ecosystem, but it must be also highlighted that on this specific topic, the Prime Minister has really taken the lead. Indeed, there has been a genuine, personal involvement by the Prime Minister and this should be all the more stressed that it is actually something quite rare in terms of cybersecurity governance worldwide. Of course, this "Top-Down" ambition could only be fully realized but because there were already Bottom-Up capabilities in Israel. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the country has created superb high-tech capabilities and the topic of cybersecurity has subsequently been identified as a strategic matter. In 2010, the existence of the Stuxnet malware [against uranium enrichment centers in Iran] was made public. We knew what was possible. So, we understood what others could do against us as well. Thus, we also needed new protection.