CTech's Wednesday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Amnesty International says Israeli-developed spyware was used to target a Saudi rights activist. Amdocs CEO Eli Gelman to step down effective October 2018

Amnesty International says Israeli-developed spyware was used to target a Saudi rights activist. On Tuesday, Amnesty International announced one of its staff members and a Saudi rights activist have been the target of an attempted spyware attack by a "government hostile” to the organization’s work. The spyware in question, according to Amnesty, is a trojan horse developed and marketed by Israeli cyber surveillance company NSO Group. Called Pegasus, it gives operators access to calls and messages, and remote control of the mobile device on which it is installed. Read more

 

Amdocs CEO Eli Gelman to step down effective October 2018. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq-listed company announced record revenues of $1 billion for the third quarter but lowered 2018 forecasts. Read more

NSO Group's co-founder Omri Lavie. Photo: Amit Sha'al

 

 

3D printer company Formlabs raises according to a $1 billion company valuation. Formlabs raised $30 million in April according to a pre-money valuation of $840 million. Read more

 

Electric scooter-sharing company Bird expands to Tel Aviv and Paris. Despite some limiting legislation, electric scooters are extremely popular in Israel, especially in Tel Aviv’s busy streets, where most local and international tech companies operating in the country choose to set up shop. Read more

 

SolarEdge extends patents lawsuit against Huawei. The solar energy company has a pending lawsuit in Germany against the Chinese telecommunications company and a German distributor. Read more

 

Electronics quality assurance company CIMS opens an outpost in Israel. Inaugurated in mid-July, the research and development center employs a team of 20 and is set to grow to a 50-person team by 2021. Read more

 

Israeli President Rivlin says he will protest controversial state law by signing it in Arabic. In a Monday meeting, the Israeli ceremonial head of state said he must sign the bill or resign. Read more

 

News briefs

 

Orbotech reports record revenues for second quarter of 2018.Read more

 

Waze CEO invests in $8 million round by online real estate investment marketplace CrowdStreet. Read more