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08 Jul 14. Israel is promising tax breaks and access to cooperative cyber programs to lure leading domestic and multinational firms to a new national cyber park in the Negev desert. Approved by the Israeli Cabinet Sunday, the incentives aim to advance Israel’s drive toward global cyber power status through strategic partnerships, investment and employment expected from the high-tech hub being built in Beersheba. Israel aims to create 3,000 cyber-related jobs over the next 10 years through tax breaks for existing Israeli-based businesses willing to relocate down south or for new firms seeking to share in a steadily growing market. The government’s National Cyber Bureau (NCB) estimated that Israel-based firms generated some $3bn in cyber-related sales in 2013, second only to annual turnover by US firms. “The State of Israel is at an excellent jumping off point vis a vis the rest of the world, which allows us to compete for a significant share of global growth,” NCB Director Eviatar Matanya said in a Sunday statement. The government’s latest incentives aim to augment Israel’s share of an annual market estimated to exceed $120bn in coming years. “This is a step that will strengthen our national security and benefit Israeli industry. Our goal is to have thousands of jobs at the cyber park in less than a decade,” he added. In a statement following his government’s approved cyber incentives, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged “determined action” to satisfy strategic needs while exploiting global economic opportunity. “We’re now on a super highway of competition for the heart of the market,” Netanyahu said. Air Force Gen. Jonathan Harel Locker, director of the Prime Minister’s Office, said the incentives will advance plans to create “a unique global cluster” at the park. Tax breaks will allow employers to reduce taxes deducted from employee income, similar to a formula designed for the government’s Free Trade Zone agreement in the Red Sea port city of Eilat, Locker said. (Source: Defense News)
07 Jul 14. Oracle protest delays DISA’s cloud storage contract award. The Defense Information Systems Agency’s planned award of a $427m contract for cloud storage services has been delayed by a pre-award protest by Oracle Corp. DISA had planned to make an award this month for the contract, known as Enterprise Storage Services II, but the protest will push any award into the fall, Nick Wakeman reports at Washington Technology. The Government Accountability Office has until Oct. 3 to rule on Oracle’s protest, the reasons for which were not released. The agency last year issued a solicitation looking for a vendor to supply on-demand storage in a cloud environment that would allow access via desktop computers and mobile devices, support Common Access Card authentication and be capable of handling classified and unclassified data. The solution would allow the Defense Department to replace its current storage system, which DISA said had exceeded its technical lifespan. ViON Corp. is the incumbent contractor, operating under a $700m contract awarded in 2007. Oracle’s protest marks the latest delay in the contract. DISA first issued a request for proposals in September 2013 and twice extended the deadline for responses and modified the RFP six times because of questions from prospective vendors. The contract will be for four years with two one-year options and a ceiling of $427m. (Source: Defense Systems)
09 Jul 14. Iranian Facebook, Twitter cyber espionage may have compromised US officials. A cyber security company has uncovered evidence of a three-year Iranian-backed online espionage campaign. iSight Partners officials said that, among others, the hackers spied on top government officials and military personnel in the United States and Israel. The hackers created fake personas through social networki