Matzov (Hebrew: מצו״ב), Hebrew abbreviation for Center of Encryption and Information Security (Hebrew: מרכז צופן וביטחון Merkaz Tzophen UVitahon), is an

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

unit under the C4I directorate of the

Israel Defence Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. The unit is exclusively responsible for all aspects of Information Security and Encryption in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, providing encryption solutions to security forces, including the IDF,

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

, and

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

, as well as state-owned enterprises, such as

Bezeq Bezeq () is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes (Israel), Yes). The company is tra ...

Mekorot Mekorot (, lit. "Sources") is the national water company of Israel and the country's top agency for water management. Founded in 1937, it supplies Israel with approx. 80% of its drinking water and operates a cross-country water supply network kno ...

, and the

Israel Electric Corporation Israel Electric Corporation (IEC; ) is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub-stations, as well as transmission and distribution ...

Companies founded by alumni

Despite its relatively small size, Matzov alumni have gone on to found many successful tech companies, among them *

Taboola Taboola, Inc. is a Public company, publicly traded advertising and technology company headquartered in New York City. It provides "content recommendation" adverts on its partner websites. History Taboola was founded in 2007 by Adam Singolda. The ...

Trusteer Trusteer is a Boston-based computer security division of IBM, responsible for a suite of security software. Founded by Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh K. Loonkar, in Israel in 2006, Trusteer was acquired in September 2013 by IBM for $1 billion. Trust ...

* SlickLogin * CYE * Checkmarx * Ermetic * CyberX * Apiiro * Salt Security

Activities

Due to its secretive nature, little is publicly known about Matzov's activities. However, several of its operations were made public. Notably, the unit provided the encryption solution for the

Iron Dome Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...

air defense system.

Recruitment

Matzov recruits soldiers from a variety of elite military programs, including

Talpiot Talpiot (, literally 'turrets' or 'magnificently built') is an Israeli neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers. It was built as a garden suburb on land purchased by the Tel Aviv-based Palestine Land Devel ...

, Gamma, and Psagot. In addition, high school students demonstrating extraordinary programming or mathematical abilities are actively sought after and recruited by the unit.

References

{{morecat, date=August 2024 Israel Defense Forces