Team8, an Israeli venture capital fund focusing on cyber security raised an estimated $18 million in its first round of funding, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Team8, an Israeli venture capital fund focused on the cyber-security industry, said on Tuesday it had raised $18 million in its first round of funding, including investment from Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco . …

Led by veterans of the Israeli army’s 8200 intelligence and electronic espionage unit, Team8 aims to develop cyber-security companies that offer more in-depth protection than the usual defence against hacking attempts by generic malware.

One of the investors in the fund, David Cowan, told Reuters, “When you are being targeted by human-driven campaigns you need a much deeper skill set in cyber operations that you won’t find in Silicon Valley and is nearly impossible to find outside of criminal organisations and governments.”

One of the firms co-founders, Nadav Zafrir, is a 25-year veteran of Unit 8200, which he also headed for ten years. According to Zafrir after corporations like Target and Sony suffered cyber-attacks “a new approach was critical.”

Israel has made a commitment to become a “cybersecurity superpower.” Global corporations including IBM, Cisco, and Lockheed-Martin have all committed to a presence  in Israel to take advantage of the technical talent available.

[Photo: Friends of the IDF (FIDF) / YouTube ]