Israel's desert city of Beersheba could be the next Silicon Valley
Beersheba, Israel鈥檚 southern desert capital, sits in an area that only four decades ago hosted little more than camels, sand, and dust.
Today, however, the burgeoning urban sprawl is morphing into a tech hub that could rival 鈥� or complement 鈥� even Silicon Valley.
In its bid to become the cybersecurity capital of the world, Israel is creating a military-industrial leviathan in the heart of the Negev desert, an area that makes up two-thirds of the country鈥檚 land mass but contains a mere 10 percent of its population.
鈥淚 remember growing up with the stereotypes, the prejudice and the condescension,鈥� Beersheba mayor Rubik Danilovich told Forbes. 鈥溾�淚 remember playing away games with my youth soccer league when the opposing team would call us the 鈥榙esert rats.鈥欌��
鈥淭oday I look at the city and I see big changes. And 鈥� I鈥檓 sure of it.鈥�
Israel鈥檚 first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, would surely agree, having declared that the country鈥檚 future lay in the Negev desert.
The cybersecurity behemoth rising from the sands is said to be the biggest infrastructure project in Israeli history, housing a relocation of the military鈥檚 prestigious technology units, academic research centers, and high-tech startups.
鈥淐ybersecurity is something you will only need more of as humanity gets more tech-oriented, but and companies won鈥檛 open up new activities as much as they do right now,鈥� said Tom Ahi Dror of the Israeli National Cyber Bureau. 鈥淪o we want as much activity to be set up right here, right now.鈥�
The Israeli government is firmly behind the initiative, providing seven years鈥� worth of financial inducements for companies to set up there.
Aside from the NSA-style intelligence base, which will be located outside the city, everything is within walking distance 鈥� including nearby Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, which pumps out graduates already versed in cyber skills from their mandatory national service.
鈥淏en Gurion University plays an obvious and important role here. The tight collaboration with major industry firms, such as Deutsche Telekom, EMC, and IBM, makes the BGU cybersecurity program a very strong and practical one,鈥� Amos Stern, co-founder and CEO of Siemplify, a cybersecurity threat analysis company, and ex-Army IDF Intelligence Corps Leader, told Techcrunch.
鈥淚鈥檝e found BGU cybersecurity graduates to be well-aligned with this focus, bringing more than just a theoretical understanding of cyber. They bring a professionalism that鈥檚 very valuable when you鈥檙e looking to of today鈥檚 business.鈥�
Firms such as Lockheed Martin, IBM, and RSA have all set up shop, but the international dimension goes beyond the private sector.
The British government announced in February deepening ties with Israel to tackle cyber attacks on their national infrastructure installations.
鈥淭he UK鈥檚 world class companies and universities combined with is an unbeatable combination,鈥� said British Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock.
