Cybersecurity companies with a major presence in Israel have said that while some employees have been called by the military to reserve duty, and others have volunteered, their operations in the country are continuing.
In spite of disruptions from the deadly attack on the country and current military buildup, companies including Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, CyberArk, SentinelOne, Aqua Security and Armis have said that their operations are resilient and only minimally impacted.
[Related: CyberArk’s Operations Are Resilient Amid Israel-Hamas War: CEO]
Last weekend, rocket attacks and violent raids by Hamas killed more than 1,300 and injured thousands more in Israel. An estimated 150 people were abducted into Gaza by Hamas, a Palestinian group that the U.S. has termed a terrorist organization.
This week, the Israeli military has mobilized 360,000 reservists for duty, ahead of a potential ground offensive in Gaza.
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What follows are the statements shared by several cybersecurity companies in Israel about the impacts to their operations and employees.
Palo Alto Networks
In the wake of the horrifying events that have unfolded over the past few days, we extend our condolences to those affected by the attacks and tragic loss of innocent lives. Our highest priority is the safety and security of our employees, customers, and partners.
We are currently operating with no impact on our ability to serve our customers globally. We continue to monitor the escalating situation and are focused on the delivery of cybersecurity solutions and services. In line with industry best practices and our longstanding continuity plans, we will shift workloads to other regions as needed to ensure uninterrupted protection for our customers.
Armis
Armis is a US headquartered global organization with a strong Israel presence. Its first priority is to its employees and their extended families who have been affected by Saturday’s attack. All our staff are accounted for and are actively being supported by the senior leadership and Armis founders.
Several members of our Israel team have been called up from the reservists to join the IDF since Saturday. These employees have been given additional support as they stand on the front line to defend Israel and we are honoured to support them. The business and high tech sectors in Israel have collectively come together to provide additional help and assistance with food, equipment and resources as needed.
Armis is supporting staff affected with additional housing and hotels as well as psychological help in dealing with these atrocities.
Our team will continue to maintain our high standards of customer service whilst also supporting its Israel colleagues while staff serve their country. We are humbled by their response and stand united.
CyberArk
We’re thankful that our team in Israel is safe. A small percentage of our team has been called to military reserve duty. Some employees have bravely volunteered. We’re incredibly proud of all our team members and will continue to support them and keep them in our hearts and minds.
Our priority is the safety and well-being of our employees, while we remain committed to our customers and broader business stakeholders and our mission of securing the world against cyber threats, so together we can move fearlessly forward.
We believe CyberArk is in a strong position to operate successfully in this challenging environment. Right from the beginning, resiliency has been foundational to our operations, and we have built each function with business continuity in mind. We are a global organization with employees located around the world. Our operations, including global services and support, and executive management are diversified, and like every global company, our operating functions are supported from local offices in various geographies.
Aqua Security
As we watch the devastating events unfold in Israel, first and foremost, we want to share that our Aquarians are safe. Our thoughts are with our team members, their families, and all our Israeli friends who were impacted. The emotional toll and physical hardships that our team and others in Israel are undergoing cannot be understated. It is at times like these that our company’s values are put to the test, and our compassion and unity as a global family become more important than ever.
That being said, Aqua is fully operational. While much of our engineering team is based in Israel, we are a global company with engineering, operations, success, services, and support resources spread globally outside of Israel. We also have contingency plans in place, including a remote work structure for our Israeli employees, to ensure continuity of our business and services. And of course our entire infrastructure runs in the cloud so it is unaffected by any local events. We will continue to monitor the situation and will do what we can to support our employees, their families and the community, as they navigate this challenging time.
Check Point
Check Point is a global company with offices in over 80 countries and company operations remain unaffected by the situation. We have been working hybrid since the start of COVID, so we have the ability to work and function seamlessly.
CardinalOps
Our main focus during this difficult and heartbreaking time has been on supporting our Israeli team and their families for anything they need. For most Israeli-based cybersecurity firms, a reduction in manpower is one of the biggest and most immediate effects of this conflict with many volunteering or being called in for reserve duty. We wish them all a safe and successful return home soon. We are fortunate to not have experienced any significant impact on our company’s operations and the support we are receiving not only from our team abroad, but also from customers, advisors, investors and colleagues globally is giving us strength and hope.
There has already been a notable increase in cyberattacks against companies and organizations based in Israel during this time and we expect this to only worsen. These attacks will affect civilians, as well as military and infrastructure targets but Israel’s significant cybersecurity intelligence and defense capabilities will continue to play a key role in thwarting these efforts.
SentinelOne
SentinelOne CEO Tomer Weingarten said that the disruption to its Israel operations should be modest amid the threat of further violence, following the devastating Hamas attacks over the weekend. Part of the reason, Weingarten said, is that many Israelis are “sadly” not unfamiliar with situations of this sort — though he acknowledged that the country’s war effort does create some uncertainties.
“The team obviously is bracing for war. And there’s people getting drafted,” he said during a session at the 2023 XChange Best of Breed Conference, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company in Atlanta.
“But at the end of the day, the operations remain pretty much as is,” Weingarten said. “People are kind of accustomed to work under different situations — sadly, rocket launches and all of that is something that’s not entirely new for the State of Israel.”
During the session Tuesday, Weingarten said that for teams in Israel, “they’re pretty much trained to operate under” such circumstances. Ultimately, “this is a reality that I think none of us would ever want in any country,” he said.