The State of Massachusetts is partnering with Israel’s CyberSpark to work on development, research and training related to cybersecurity.
During a stop on Governor Charlie Baker’s Economic Development Mission to Israel, economic development leaders took part in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and CyberSpark, a non-profit made up of academic, industry and government resources.
“Massachusetts and Israel each maintain highly skilled workforces, eager investors, and innovative economies that make us natural partners ready to lead on the future of cybersecurity,” said Governor Baker. “I want to congratulate MassTech Collaborative and CyberSpark on today’s agreement.”
The partnership will focus on several potential key areas of collaboration, including: Applied research projects focused on healthcare technology-related cyber issues; roundtables to discuss emerging trends in technology, policy and regulation; practical trainings for students in the cybersecurity fields in both regions; and visits of delegations consisting of representatives from academia, industry and the political arena to campuses in both regions.
“We’re excited to kick off our partnership with CyberSpark, so that we can find ways to identify and neutralize emerging threats to these critical systems,” said Tim Connelly, CEO of MassTech. “The focus on cybersecurity in the healthcare space builds on our work with the governor on the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative and it highlights the growing importance of protecting connected technologies such as electronic health records, in-home monitors and diagnostic tools.”
Massachusetts is home to at least 34 cybersecurity companies; 30 cybersecurity degree programs located at 18 universities, colleges and community colleges; four NSA Centers of Excellence; 15 dedicated Security Research Centers; and 13 leading university/nonprofit research centers.
“We look forward to collaborating with MassTech on the ‘Cybersecurity for Healthcare’ frontier,” said Roni Zehavi, CEO of CyberSpark. “The MOU is an excellent platform to seed and grow joint projects and the exchange of know-how, thus maximizing the proven values and assets available to both CyberSpark and Massachusetts around the venues of technology, research, human capital and regulation.”
Massachusetts recently announced a $5 million grant for cybersecurity that will be used to bolster cyber-research and the computing technology used by the University of Massachusetts.
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