Israeli Cyber and Mobile Security Companies To Watch

Israeli firms on the Cybersecurity 500 list of the world's hottest and most innovative companies showcased their wares at the RSA Conference in San Francisco earlier in Q2.  The RSA Conference is widely regarded as the cybersecurity industry's largest and most influential event.

The companies with headquarters in Israel who exhibited at RSA Conference, in the order that they are listed on the Cybersecurity 500:

#39 Check Point Software (Tel-Aviv) 
#68 Checkmarx (Tel-Aviv)
#100 Seculert (Petach-Tikva)
#175 Skybox Security (founded Israel, local office Herzliya, HQ San Jose CA)
#193 SENTRIX (Kfar Neta)
#199 TrapX Security (Tel-Aviv)
#202 Skycure (Tel-Aviv)
#249 Radware (News - Alert) (Tel-Aviv)
#277 Light Cyber (Ramat Gan)
#278 Imperva (founded Tel-Aviv, HQ Redwood Shores CA)
#328 Guardicore (Tel-Aviv)

There are a total of 16 companies with headquarters in Israel who appear on the Q2 2015 edition of the Cybersecurity 500.  After the U.K., with 20 companies listed, Israel was the second largest nation represented on the Cybersecurity 500.  When considering the number of companies who startup in Israel and relocate their HQ to the U.S., Israel is likely the top non-U.S. nation represented on the Cybersecurity 500.  Cybersecurity Ventures is currently evaluating a number of Israeli companies who would be new inclusions on the upcoming Q3 list scheduled for publishing in July.

In addition to the Cybersecurity 500, the following Israeli companies exhibited at the RSA Conference: Comillon; Covertix; Cybereason; Dome9; EnSilo, FireLayers, Forthscale; Hexadite; ThetaRay; Whitebox Security; and WireX.

Israeli companies who appear on the Cybersecurity 500 but were not exhibiting at this year's RSA Conference include: 6Scan; Cyactive; GreenSQL; Minereye; and Waterfall Security.

Skycure, a leader in mobile threat solutions exhibiting at the RSA Conference, reported the "No-iOS Zone" bug there - a new vulnerability that allows attacks on iOS devices including Apple iPhones and iPads.

Mobile malware and Wi-Fi hacks, like the No iOS Zone, are on the rise, driving a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for mobile security companies. There were over two billion smart phones and tablets sold last year.  Mobile web traffic exceeded desktop web traffic in the U.S. for the first time last year.  Mobile devices have become the target.  We will see anti-malware and anti-virus apps become standard issue on mobile phones and tablets. Biometrics like fingerpoint sensing for mobile devices will be the next wave in mobile security.  Companies like Skycure who reported the bug initially are poised for growth.  This is like the early days of anti-virus when the vendors were leapfrogging each other in the media as they each scurried to be the first one to report a virus.

As cybercrime goes up, so does the market opportunity.. which explains the cybersecurity industry growth from about $70 billion in 2014 - projected to grow to over $155 billion by 2019, according to Cybersecurity Ventures' Q2 2015 Cybersecurity Market Report.