CTech’s Week: Top Stories
Benny Landa is cooking diamonds; Israel Police had a plan to police social media
Benny Landa's Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. The printing multi-millionaire’s newest venture has him cooking diamonds in a central Israel lab, in a process he describes as “alchemy”. Read more
Israel Police had a plan to police social media. An inner document obtained by Calcalist reveals the police has set up a dedicated “shaming” officer who is in charge of removing negative comments and posts from social media, and that the agency also previously planned to create a real-time monitoring system of such posts. Read more
Benny Landa at his diamond production facility. Photo: Tommy Harpaz
NSO spyware used to target Moroccan human rights activists, says Amnesty. According to Amnesty’s report, the two activists received SMS messages with malicious links that would have installed NSO’s Pegasus spyware on their devices if clicked. Both previously faced harassment from the Moroccan regime over their activism. Read more
SodaStream investigation transcripts: you made a killing today, lunch is on you. SodaStream’s former CEO Daniel Birnbaum is being investigated under suspicion of providing insider trading tips to a close acquaintance on three separate occasions, enabling her to make profits of around $55,000. Read more
83North closes a $300 million fifth fund. 83North’s portfolio companies include web and mobile monetization company IronSource, in which private equity firm CVC recently agreed to buy a 25% stake for over $400 million. Read more
Small business insurer Next Insurance raises $250 million. Next provides coverage for entrepreneurs and small businesses, using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to tailor insurance policies for its clients. Read more
