Arab, Jewish teens shoot for the moon

New technology and innovation hub opens in northern Arab-Israeli town to foster a unified youth movement of space-science enthusiasts.

Bu Abigail Klein, leichman, Israel21C

Asaf Brimer spent 25 years in the Israeli air force and aerospace sector before an idea came into his mind like a shooting star across the horizon: He would bring Israeli Arab and Jewish students together through a collaborative research center focused on outer space.

Moona — a Space for Change officially opened in September last year in Majd Al-Kurum, a Muslim village 10 miles east of Acre (Akko) in the Western Galilee.

So far, it has attracted about 100 high school students – roughly a 50-50 split between Jewish and Muslim teens – for weekly courses in robotics, drones, 3D printing, electronics and other technologies related to outer-space exploration. Families from the area also are welcome at Moona.

“Moona” means “wish” in Arabic and sounds like “moon” in English, while in Hebrew “emoona” means “faith.”

Brimer tells ISRAEL21c that he and his founding partner, Hussein Tarabeih, the Muslim head of Towns Association for Environmental Quality, wanted to connect Arab and Jewish citizens of the Galilee to one another and to the academic institutions and businesses of the region.

“I started it because the separation in our society is the biggest challenge for Israel, and I decided that my children will be better off if society is more open,” he says. “We lose a lot of advantages because we don’t have opportunities to meet each other, and [Arab children] have few opportunities in high-tech.”

Visit from NASA administrator

These goals meshed with those of Israeli industrialist and philanthropist Stef Wertheimer, who has initiated several projects to enhance the job prospects of Arab-Israeli citizens of the Galilee, such as the Nazareth Industrial Park established in 2010.

Wertheimer provided both funds and equipment for Moona, and his son Oren heads its board of directors, which is also evenly split between Arabs and Jews. Additional investment came from a crowdfunding campaign, private individuals and foundations, the Israeli government and the Galilee municipalities of Karmiel and Misgav.

Wertheimer and former Israeli president Shimon Peres were on hand for Moona’s grand opening. Two years previously, the hub-to-be got a surprise boost from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr.

Bolden was in Israel in January 2013 for the 10th commemoration of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy that took the life of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Brimer had been in touch with friends at NASA to announce his intention to open a technology hub “that is going to change society,” and word made its way up to Bolden.

As soon as Brimer confirmed that Bolden was planning to come to the Galilee to meet with teens involved in the planning of Moona, he arranged for the students to stage a science fair in the town of Sakhnin for the NASA visitors.

During Bolden’s visit he encouraged the teens to let go of historical enmity and work together on space research just as the United States and Russia managed to do. “At one time, the United States and the Soviet Union were the bitterest of enemies,” he told them. “But we’ve got to be willing to forgive people. And that’s hard work.”

Things that need to get done

Brimer and Tarabeih don’t like to dwell on the bicultural aspect of Moona.

“We don’t need to talk about Arabs and Jews; we’re just doing things that need to get done,” says Brimer. “And we are welcomed because the need is big.”

He explains that they chose to focus on outer space because they believe the combination of exploration and technology is attractive to many teens. And they hope it will stimulate interest in higher education in the sciences among women, especially those from Arab families in the area Moona serves.

“I see myself wearing that white lab coat, doing research and doing things that females couldn’t do before,” says Arab-Israeli participant Shada Miari on a promotional video for the innovation lab.

The project also has the backing of SpaceIL, a national movement of volunteers, academics, business leaders and industry experts working toward landing an Israeli satellite on the moon and raising the level of technology education in Israeli schools.

“I welcome and support Moona’s establishment with great enthusiasm,” said SpaceIL Chairman Yanki Margalit. “There is a real shortage in technology education and a thriving high-tech industry in the northern Galilee region. In the near future, SpaceIL will collaborate with Moona and utilize the new lab for our collaborative educational programs. Their success is our success, in realizing SpaceIL’s educational vision.”

In Brimer’s vision, there are no divisions between peoples. “From outer space, everyone looks the same,” he says.

February Newsletter - Identity Theft

In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years – and thousands of dollars – cleaning up the mess the thieves have made.

Identity Theft is Vega’s topic of the month. You can find an executive summary of our monthly technical review at page 3, and few examples of players on the protection side at page 5.

A full article with much more information about the Identity theft threat and how to protect yourself is published at our Blog,

Identity Theft or Identity Fraud

In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years – and thousands of dollars – cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their identity.

What is Identity (ID) Theft?

Identity theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of personal information, such as Social Security or driver's license numbers, in order to impersonate someone else. The information can be used to obtain credit, merchandise, and services in the name of the victim, or to provide the thief with false credentials. In addition to running up debt, an imposter might provide false identification to police, creating a criminal record or leaving outstanding arrest warrants for the person Identity theft is categorized in two ways: true name and account takeover.

True name identity theft means that the thief uses personal information to open new accounts. The thief might open a new credit card account, establish cellular phone service, or open a new checking account in order to obtain blank checks.

Account takeover identity theft means the imposter uses personal information to gain access to the person's existing accounts. Typically, the thief will change the mailing address on an account and run up a huge bill before the person whose identity has been stolen realizes there is a problem.

Identity theft occurs when an unauthorized party uses your personally identifying information, such as your name, address, Social Security Number (SSN), or credit card or bank account information to assume your identity in order to commit fraud or other criminal acts.

How does identity theft occur?

Identity thieves can steal your personal information directly or indirectly by:

ï  Stealing your wallets and purses containing identification cards, credit cards and bank information.

ï  Stealing your mail including credit and bank statements, phone or utility bills, new checks, and tax information.

ï  Completing a “change of address form” to redirect the destination of your mail.

ï  Rummaging through your trash for discarded personal data in a practice known as “dumpster diving.”

ï  Taking personal information that you share or post on the Internet.

What can ID thieves do with your information?

Call your creditors and change your mailing address on your credit card account.

ï  Open new lines of credit using your personal identification information.

ï  Establish new services using your name which are charged to you.

ï  Open bank accounts in your name and write bad checks.

ï  Forge checks to wipe out your bank account.

ï  Apply for auto loans taken out in your name.

ï  Commit other crimes and then give your name, instead of their own, to the police during their arrest.

What you can you do to prevent ID theft?

Identity theft is on the rise. While there are no guarantees that your identity will not be stolen there are steps you can take to minimize your risk.

ï  Use passwords on all your credit card, bank, and phone accounts.

ï  Never keep passwords, “PINs” or your SSN card in your wallet or purse.

ï  Learn about security procedures in your workplace.

ï  Never give out personal information on the phone, through mail, or over the internet unless you know the receiver and have initiated the contact.

ï  Guard your mail and trash from theft.

ï  Shred or destroy discarded financial statements in your trash.

ï  Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary.

ï  Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work.

How can you protect your personal computer from ID theft?

SSNs, financial records, tax information, birth dates, and account numbers may be stored on your personal computer. Follow these tips to help keep your personal information safe.

ï  Update your virus protection software regularly, especially when a new virus alert is brought to your attention.

ï  Do not download files from strangers or click hyperlinks from people you don’t know. This could expose your system to a virus.

ï  Use a firewall program. This will stop uninvited guests from accessing your computer.

ï  Use a secure browser to guard the security of your online transactions.

What do you do if you are a victim?

ï  Contact the fraud departments of each of the major credit bureaus.

ï  Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

ï  File a police report with your local police and/or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

At the end, it is our duty to understand the threat and take all the actions needed to protect our identity. To learn much more details about this threat you can refer to the technical review: “Identity Theft - What, How, Protect, Take Care”, at Vega’s Blog.

For more ...... See Vega's February  Newsletter 

BioCatch’s newest trick: Catch cyber-crooks before they steal anything

The Israeli security start-up now keeps the cyber-riffraff off banking sites altogether

 By David Shamah, Start-up Israel

What’s the best way to make sure that cyber-crooks don’t have the opportunity to raid bank or credit card accounts belonging to legitimate customers? By keeping them out of the system in the first place, according to Oren Kedem, VP of products at cyber-security start-up BioCatch.

The newest release of the Tel Aviv start-up’s technology now enables banks and online financial sites

to detect fraudsters during the account-opening process, so that they can be booted off the site before they have an opportunity to steal anything.

“In today’s cybersecurity environment, it’s crucial that financial services institutions have the most advanced protection allowing them to combat the increasingly sophisticated attacks we are seeing,” said Kedem. “This is exactly the reason we have zeroed in on using behavioral biometric authentication to identify threats such as malware and new account fraud.”

BioCatch’s take on security gives it an advantage for a proactive approach to catching cyber-criminals before they actually do anything, BioCatch CEO Benny Rosenbaum told The Times of Israel. “Online finance and banking sites, among others, require users to enter names and passwords to gain access, but that still doesn’t guarantee security. Our system provides a much better level of protection, checking over 400 bio-behavioral, cognitive and physiological parameters to create unique user profiles for visitors to banking and eCommerce sites.”

Similar to handwriting, said Rosenbaum, each user has an individual “web presence” — a certain way of moving their mouse, how fast they move it on the page, which links they click on and in what order, etc. BioCatch calls this the Cognitive Signature, a sum total of all the factors that go into an interactive session. BioCatch’s technology can record all this information, associating it with the specific user who is logged in and interacting with the site.

When a user interacts with a BioCatch-powered site for the first time, the system records their behavior, adding it to their user profile along with username and password information. When the user returns, the site’s authentication system checks the login information — while BioCatch checks to see if the user’s Cognitive Signature matches the one in their profile. If it doesn’t, that user is barred from accessing the online account and information — even if they have the right password.

BioCatch has been doing this for about four years, long enough for the company to have built up a significantly large database to compare legitimate online behavior with its opposite. It thus has a good sense of what fraudsters do at any stage of their online activity, including their behavior when opening an account.

One tactic, for example, is the use of a bot – an automated software system – to open multiple accounts at online banking sites, on the theory that if most of the accounts are eventually flagged for suspicious activities, hackers will be able to immediately switch to their other heretofore “clean” accounts. Another tactic hackers use could include a spoofed IP address – a fake Internet address that masks hackers’ location, enabling them to avoid detection by authorities.

Yet another sign that a bank site is dealing with an automated fraudster is if the process is too smooth – if forms are filled in too quickly, indicating that the entity on the other side is not a person (who would presumably have to think about some of the answers before filling in a form).

BioCatch’s technology picks up on all these, and much more, and with the company’s solution installed, a bank site will automatically shut down an account or a transaction to open an account. On the slight chance that the customer is legitimate, they will presumably contact the bank directly, enabling the institution to verify and approve them, despite their suspicious online behavior.

With mobile banking becoming more popular, BioCatch recently introduced a new version of its platform geared specifically to that sector, and last month the company was granted a patent for “confirmation of the identity of a mobile device user. The system creates a cognitive biometric signature which takes into account physiological factors such as left/right handedness, hand tremor and eye-hand coordination, device ID and geolocation, and other smartphone-specific factors, in addition to the behavior-based measurements the system uses in its web interface.

“BioCatch is pleased to be awarded this patent as an acknowledgement of our innovations in cybersecurity technology,” said Avi Turgeman, CTO of BioCatch. “Our customers deserve the most advanced technology on the market capable of protecting against increasingly complex and hostile cyber-attacks, which is why we are continuously driven to innovate and stay ahead of cyber criminals.

Brazilian government promises major broadband investment

Summary:A new digital inclusion roadmap will be launched in the first half of 2015; government wants to create advantages for private companies to invest more

By Angelia Mari for Brazil Tech 

A revamped national broadband plan will be launched in the first half of 2015 with more government investment and the creation of "synergies" between the public and private sector to deliver improved Internet access services across the country.

The promise was made by the new Communications minister of president Dilma Rousseff's second term, Ricardo Berzoini. The minister told delegates at a public sector telecoms event that his team is currently working on a new plan to deliver quality broadband to the maximum amount of citizens at a lower cost and faster speeds.

According to Berzoini, the intention is to "create an environment where companies can invest larger sums of money and get medium and long-term paybacks." The new minister added that the government "will invest a large amount, given the need to increase the country's telecom infrastructure." This was one of president Rousseff's pledges during her presidential campaign last October.

"We want to present something that the country will see as a real goal to be achieved within the next four years," the minister said. According to Berzoini, there are budgetary constraints, but the idea is to prioritize more strategic areas for improvement, without citing specifics.

The new Communications minister stressed that the new plan will maintain previous projects, such as the development of Brazil's first satellite - which aims to protect priviledged information that may impact on national security while boosting the broadband capacity of the country - and expand on original digital inclusion targets.

Berzoini did not give an indication of what the new targets might be, but the Rousseff government has failed to meet its existing goals in terms of digital inclusion: official numbers indicate that 2014 ended with 23 million households connected to the Internet, well below the originally intended 35 million.

When it comes to quality of services, Internet speed in Brazil generally lags behind rest of the world. According to a study carried out by Akamai last year, global average broadband speed has gone up by 21 percent in the second quarter of 2014, while average Internet speed in Brazil has gone up by 11 percent.

Identity Theft - What,How,Protect,Take Care

 Introduction to Identity Theft

In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief

does. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years – and thousands of dollars – cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their identity.

Identity theft is a crime that involves using another person’s personal information to take malicious actions, such as conducting fraud or stealing funds. The information provided in this document is designed to help individuals protect themselves against identity theft and mitigate the risk.

“Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s data in some way that involves fraud deception”

The frequency of identity theft has increased dramatically. Criminals use electronic means to obtain the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) needed to carry out this crime. As set forth throughout this paper, there are numerous steps that one can and should take to defend against identity (ID) theft in general and the prevalence of targeting by sophisticated and not-so- sophisticated hackers. However, none of the steps, either alone or in the aggregate, can absolutely preclude becoming a victim of identity theft or prevent PII from being stolen. The information provided throughout this document is designed to help protect against this possibility and to mitigate the risks that could happen. If, despite best efforts to defend against ID theft, a determined attacker is successful in conducting ID theft, basic guidance is provided to assist in addressing the situation.

Israeli startups set record for exits in 2014

Israeli high-tech and biotech startups witnessed a record year of acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs), according to end-of-year reports by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ethosia Human Resources
by Viva Sarah Press, Israel21C

According to end-of-year reports by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ethosia Human Resources. The reports show that 52 Israeli startups exited to the tune of some $15 billion this year, while 18 IPOs racked up $9.8 billion.

Kontera ($150 million), Cyvera ($200 million), SuperDerivatives ($350 million), Simbionix ($120 million), Green Smoke ($110 million) and Wilocity ($300 million) were among the top blue-and-white acquisitions of 2014.

Jonathan Medved, CEO of OurCrowd equity crowdfunding, tells ISRAEL21c that the pace of investment in Israel is surprisingly swift. “2013 was already a good year by Israeli standards. The fact that 2014 is up 30 to 40 percent is shocking,” he says.

“This year, 2014, will be known as a revolutionary year,” writes Eyal Solomon, CEO of Ethosia, in the introduction to his firm’s annual report on Israeli high-tech and biotech. “It is revolutionary in raising funds, in the rate startups were launched, in the speed of raising funds and the pace of exits, which broke every record possible.”

But whereas years past were all about Israeli companies scoring big exits, 2014 showed a transition to successful IPOs and globalization.

“Companies that in the past were able to sell themselves and earn big returns for investors are going to the end with a share offering and building big companies,” Rubi Suliman, head of PriceWaterhouseCoopers Israel’s high-tech practice, told Ha’aretz (http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.634546).

This year’s IPO crop was led by collision-avoidance technology company Mobileye ($890 million), which achieved the largest-ever IPO of an Israeli company.

Altogether, 18 Israeli tech companies raised $9.8 billion in IPOs this past year, according to figures in the PwC report. This represents a huge jump on the $1.2 billion from 2013.

Cybersecurity company CyberArk Software, digital advertising group Crossrider androbotic exoskeleton maker ReWalk also recorded top IPO performances this year.

“Over the past year the stars were aligned perfectly for Israel high tech,” said Suliman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers Israel. “There is no small number of companies with the ability and appetite to go public and become the leaders in their industries. Likewise the appetite of [multinational] corporations for mergers and acquisitions remains high and we will see their activities in this remain higher than usual.”

Taking a cue from Wall Street, not Gaza

While last year’s forecasts for 2014 predicted a strong performance in the Israeli high-tech field, no one could have foreseen this past summer’s Gaza conflict. Though the Israeli economy took a hit, its high-tech and biotech sectors reached record-breaking numbers.

“Israel takes its cues from Silicon Valley and Wall Street as opposed to Ramallah and Gaza,” Medved, one of Israel’s leading high-tech venture capitalists, tells ISRAEL21c. “It’s been a great year on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley and that’s why we’re doing so well.

“Israel has proven time and time again this unbelievable resilience in the face of what normal people would view as overwhelming potential crises and risk factors. We don’t relate that way to them. They are things we take in our stride and move on and get the next deal done,” he says. “If you look at what happened this year, we had our biggest IPO in history, which was Mobileye, and it happened to take place in the middle of the war.”

Ethosia’s Solomon points out that the high-tech industry is uncorrelated with the rest of the economy, even in wartime.
“While the economy as a whole is suffering from a slowdown, high-tech is flourishing more than before Operation Protective Edge,” Solomon told Globes. “Many of the high-tech companies operating in Israel are international companies located overseas that have their development centers in Israel. The products of this industry are also designated for overseas markets, which are mostly unaffected by this war. The global economy is improving, and the high-tech market is therefore not suffering; it is on an uptrend.”

Home-court advantage in 2015

The best news for Israel, says Medved, is that the most in-demand technologies — such as cyber-security, real-time computing, Internet of Things software and big-data analytics — happen to be the country’s specialty.

“The big new hot tech areas seem to be getting closer and closer to Israel’s sweet spot, playing into our home court. We’re getting a home court advantage,” he tells ISRAEL21c.

“There’s never been a time when security was more important, and you don’t need the Sony hack or The Interview to point that out. … This is stuff that Israel is very good at because of our military capabilities, as evidenced by our expertise at Iron Dome, which is the world’s most spectacular public example of real-time computing. … Add that to big data, analytics, the cloud — all things Israel is good at. It turns out Israel is more relevant than before.”

Both the PwC and Ethosia reports forecast more Israeli companies setting out on the IPO route and a continued strong interest by foreign companies in Israeli technology.

Medved says the rise of Asian investment, led by China but not limited to China, will also “become a significant part of the business here.”

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in investor interest worldwide in Israeli startups,” says Medved. “My sense is 2015 will be a far, far better year.”

Internet use rockets up in Brazil

Web penetration increased by 33% in the third quarter of 2014, Akamai reports today, continuing an upward trend fueled by Brazilians buying web-connected mobile phones. The U.S. still leads in the number of unique IPv4 addresses, followed by China and then Brazil.

BY THAD RUETER

 

Internet penetration in Brazil increased 33% in the third quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013, according to a report released today by Akamai Technologies Inc., a content delivery network and web security firm. That robust growth in the number of consumers going online comes as South America’s largest country gains e-commerce momentum.

The Akamai report, its third quarter “State of the Internet Report,” measures the growth in “unique IPv4 addresses” globally. Internet protocol version four routes most web traffic (a newer version is in the works). Akamai crafts its figures by measuring addresses connected to the Akamai Intelligent Platform, a web-hosted platform used by its client for web security and other tasks.

Akamai says that IPv4 unique addresses in Brazil neared 45.5 million in the third quarter, up 3.1% from the second quarter of 2014. That means Brazil has shown the highest such growth among the top 10 countries for unique IPv4 addresses.

Akamai did not immediately provide an explanation for the rapid growth in the number of consumers accessing the web in Brazil. But e-commerce experts say Brazilian shoppers have been snapping up inexpensive web-connected smartphones, often purchasing them from Chinese retail web sites for as little as $50, in recent years since the government reduced taxes on wireless service.

Mobile phone user penetration was expected to reach 75.9% in 2014 in Brazil, although the percentage of consumers with smartphones was still a relatively low 20.3%, according to a report from market research firm eMarketer. By 2018, however, eMarketer predicts half of Brazil’s population will have access to the Internet via a smartphone.

The growth in Internet access is helping drive rapid growth in online retail sales in Brazil. In late 2014, for instance, market research firm eMarketer predicted that web sales in Brazil will increase 22% year over year in 2014, to $16.28 billion. That nearly matches the 22.2% global web sales growth average for 2014. That helps to explains why such large e-retailers as Amazon.com Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are working to beef up their e-commerce efforts in Brazil.

Globally, there exist more than 760.6 million unique IPv4 addresses, Akamai says. It says the number of those addresses will decline as more carriers try to conserve “limited IPv4 address space” by moving to IPv6 and other methods.

Here is the top 10 list by country, with unique IPv4 addresses as of the third quarter and the year-over-year growth or reduction percentage figures:

• United States: 156.8 million, -1.1%

• China: 122.1 million,  5.9%

• Brazil, 45.5 million, 33%

• Japan, 40.7 million, 1.6%

• Germany, 36.8 million, 0.0%

• France, 28.3 million, 4.1%

• United Kingdom, 26.7 million, -8.2%

• South Korea, 20.7 million, -2.2%

• Italy, 18.6 million, -2.9%

• Russia, 18.6 million, 5.8%

Harman acquires Red Bend Software for $200m

Veteran Israeli company Red Bend Software was sold today for $170 million in cash and shares, and a further $30 million in milestone performance payments by 2017. The buyer is US company Harman International Industries Inc. (NYSE: HAR), which makes vehicle entertainment and information systems. Harman's market cap is $6.7 billion.

Red Bend, whose offices are located in Hod Hasharon, was founded in 1999 by Sharon Peleg and Gadi Gonen. In 2001, two years later, the company changed its business focus, and appointed Yoram Salinger as CEO, a position he retains to this day. The company provides software for remote

management of mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones. The company says that its product is currently installed in more than two billion cellular devices.

Red Bend's technology facilitates to remote revision by cellular operators of both software and physical components installed in cellular devices. In addition to updating applications, it is now possible to make revisions in the operating system. These capabilities have helped the company sell its product to a series of major technology companies, including Intel, Sony, Lenovo, Motorola, Samsung, Panasonic, Huawei, LG, TI, ZTE, and others.

In 2010, Red Bend decided to expand by penetrating the auto market, where it helps operate the software and hook cars up to the Internet. The company claims that its customers include over 100 device manufacturers, cellular operators, semiconductor manufacturers, and auto manufacturers.

Salinger today said, "With over 15 years of success in delivering world-class over-the-air update solutions to the telecom and mobile markets, we are pleased to bring our proven track record to Harman. By joining forces with Harman, we will accelerate our growth in expanding markets such as the connected car while also continuing to support billions of mobile devices. Beyond mobile, Red Bend and Harman will implement OTA software management to enhance infotainment and embedded system performance as well as other in-car ECU-based systems. These solutions will benefit the entire automotive ecosystem through cost savings, increased security and a seamless customer experience.”

Harman chairman, president, and CEO Dinesh Paliwal today said, "This acquisition of Red Bend, a

true pioneer in OTA and virtualization technologies for cyber security, adds a critical component to our automotive systems and services portfolio that will essentially future proof software in cars, ultimately making them safer, smarter and more efficient. Together with our Symphony Teleca acquisition, Harman now has the essential foundation and deep bench strength for a comprehensive systems and services portfolio. Today marks a huge transformation for Harman and further advancement towards delivering consumers a seamless, connected car and connected lifestyle experience.”

Red Bend chairman and Carmel Ventures general partner Shlomo Dovrat added, "We at Carmel were the first investors in Red Bend, and we're proud of the company for growing and becoming a world leader in remote software management and revision. The company has proved able to adapt its products and strategy to the giant market of revision and management of vehicle software."

Inspired By Israeli Air Force Simulators, Former Pilots Develop 3D Brain Simulator for Surgeons

For decades, pilots have practiced for combat missions using flight simulators. Now, brain surgeons are adopting a similar ritual, using flight simulation technology during both rehearsal for and practice of complex microsurgical procedures.
by Betty Ilovici, NoCamels.com

Surgical Theater, founded by former Israeli Air Force officers Alon Geri and Moty Avisar in 2010, developed a revolutionary brain surgery simulation method for doctors. Much like a flight simulator, Surgical Theater helps surgeons with pre-operative and intra-operative surgery preparation, making sure that doctors are fully briefed and prepared before embarking on complex surgical procedures.

Non-Invasive Brain Navigation System Helps to Remove Tumors
Preparation is crucial; nearly 70,000 new cases of brain tumors will be diagnosed in the US next year, 4,600 of them in children, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

Previous simulators in the medical field were designed for training and teaching, but Surgical Theater takes simulation to a new level of planning and rehearsal. Geri and Avisar have come up with a simulator that enables brain surgeons to rehearse on 3D holograms (images) before actually performing complex procedures, such as removing cancerous tumors and treating aneurysms, on the patient.

In addition to rehearsal of complex surgeries, Surgical Theater provides an advanced feature called “fusion,” which combines medical scans and data to create a single, personalized, 3D model. There are two separate simulation devices, individually called SRP and SNAP, both successfully cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2012 and in 2014. Surgeons use the 3D Surgical Planner (SRP) device for case analysis before surgery and the SNAP device during operation.

SRP itself is used before treatment to rehearse and prepare, allowing surgeons to manipulate the simulated tumor or aneurysm with tools reflective of those in the operating room. Doctors have the opportunity to practice each case, an extraordinary advance in comparison to previous methods, which were primarily based on 2D images.

Once in the operating room, surgeons can use the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform (SNAP), a simulation device that does not offer surgery tools, but instead, connectivity to a surgery navigation system, or the “GPS” of the brain. The technology loads patient data and shows surgeon navigation within the brain during surgery. Surgeons have access to different angles of view and can visually manipulate the 3D model. An example would be the use of a navigation probe to freeze and rotate the model of a tumor – allowing surgeons to make critical decisions regarding the status of a tumor.

Behind Surgical Theater’s innovation and scientific achievement is a personal story. “[As a former pilot] taking my expertise and putting it into saving somebody’s life is mind blowing,” Geri tells NoCamels, “standing three feet from the patient with his head open is very emotional for me because I’m able to touch those patients, help them recover faster and get back to their lives quickly.”

World-renowned medical centers acknowledge that Surgical Theater is paving the way in advanced medical exploration. At the time of the writing of this article, leading surgery centers around the US, including the Mayo Clinic, the NYU Langone Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital, have installed Surgical Theatre systems with hopes to make their operating rooms more advanced than ever before.

Even the most experienced doctors need to rehearse

The simulation devices were recently brought for testing at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, leading to further acknowledgement of Surgical Theater’s potential as part of the surgery of the future.

“I believe this is going to be the best way for a surgeon to master one of the most complicated surgical tasks,” Dr. Sagi Harnof, deputy chair of the department of neurosurgery at Sheba Medical Center, tells NoCamels. “Any modern neurovascular surgeon should own such a system to keep the highest level of aneurysm surgery.”

Surgical Theater is hoping to collaborate with additional medical centers in the US and Israel, and to expand to markets in Europe and the Far East. Additionally, the company aims to continue research and innovation into cardiovascular and spinal surgery technologies.

After four years of ‘thinking out of the box,’ bringing flight simulation technology to the operating room, the company is experimenting beyond the navigation system, hoping to connect the simulation devices to microscopes. Geri says it only sounds like science fiction. “It won’t be fiction, just science.”

Why Brazil Put Its Military In Charge of Cyber Security

By Robert Muggah and Misha Glenny

Brazil has embraced the digital age with more gusto than most. It is one of the top users of social media and recently signed off on a bill of rights for the Internet, the Marco Civil. The country is also a leader in the development of online banking with more than 43 percent of web users engaging such services, and can be proud of a thriving software industry, including some world class companies.

But as computer users around the world are beginning to grasp, the spread of the digital world has its

dark side. Alongside all the great things the Internet offers, not least new forms of political and economic empowerment, it brings some very serious threats.

Brazilians are waking up to the reality of online scams, hacking, espionage and digital surveillance. And while the government is taking cyber malfeasance seriously, it may have seriously misinterpreted the nature and significance of those threats and, as a consequence, the best way to tackle them.

For political reasons, Brasilia has outsourced most responsibility for the country’s cyber security to the military. While the armed forces has enthusiastically embraced this new role, placing them in charge of overall cyber security for both civilian and military networks is a mismatch that could have damaging consequences the country’s security.

Not all cyber threats are equal. Perhaps the most egregious one is economically motivated

cyber crime— the targeting of private banks, firms and individuals. Others are posed by domestic and international hacktivist groups intent on disrupting government services and corporate websites. Brazil’s popular protests of June-August 2013, for example, coincided with a sharp rise in hacktivist activity.