Karnataka and Israel strengthen cybersecurity partnership, focus on innovation and resilience

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government and the Consulate General of Israel in Bengaluru on Tuesday convened the Karnataka-Israel Cyber Dialogue 2026 to explore deeper collaboration in cybersecurity innovation, talent development, research, technology and digital resilience.

Held under the theme ‘Stronger Together. Secure Tomorrow’, the dialogue was organised as part of Karnataka’s Global Innovation Alliance. It was held in collaboration with the Consulate General and Trade Mission of Israel in South India and the Centre for Cybersecurity Karnataka (CySecK).

The dialogue brought together senior officials from the Government of Karnataka and the Israeli delegation, along with representatives from the cybersecurity, technology and startup ecosystems. A delegation of 10 Israeli cybersecurity companies participated in the programme. The engagement included technology demonstrations and B2B meetings aimed at identifying opportunities for practical partnerships.

Discussions focused on four key areas: Innovation and Startups, Industry Partnership, Talent and Skills, and Policy and Trust. The emphasis was on translating knowledge exchange into practical collaboration and strengthening the resilience of critical digital infrastructure, businesses and public institutions.

Speaking at the dialogue, N Manjula, Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT and BT, Government of Karnataka, said cybersecurity has become an economic imperative and governance priority.

“Cybersecurity is no longer exclusively a technology issue. It is an economic imperative, a governance priority and a fundamental requirement for building trust in the digital future. Karnataka is rightly placed to engage in such technology collaborations, given our strong technology and innovation ecosystem, skilled talent, startups, research institutions and specialised cybersecurity capabilities,” she said.

Manjula highlighted Karnataka’s Global Innovation Alliance and said the Karnataka-Israel engagement represents an opportunity to build on international partnerships and explore collaboration across startup partnerships, talent development, research, technology validation and critical infrastructure protection.

Karnataka has taken several steps to strengthen its cybersecurity ecosystem, including the Karnataka Cyber Security Policy 2024. The policy focuses on cybersecurity awareness, skill development, research and innovation, startup growth and stronger collaboration between government, industry and academia.

The state has also established the Centre for Cybersecurity Karnataka (CySecK), which works in cybersecurity awareness, skilling, startup incubation, innovation and ecosystem collaboration. CySecK brings together government, academia, industry, startups and researchers to strengthen the state’s capabilities.

Manjula noted that the CySecK team participated in Cybertech Israel and said Karnataka is exploring the possibility of Bengaluru emerging as a future host for Cybertech. She also highlighted knowledge-exchange initiatives with Tel Aviv University.

Orli Weitzman, Consul General of Israel to South India, said the engagement reflects the growing India-Israel partnership.

“India and Israel share a culture of problem-solving, with a strong emphasis on education, entrepreneurship and innovation. Cybersecurity is one of the clearest areas where our two ecosystems can work together. When Israeli technology and experience meets India’s extraordinary talent, scale and technological capabilities, the potential impact goes far beyond our two countries,” she said.

She added that the focus should be on translating the alignment between Israel’s cybersecurity expertise and Karnataka’s technology talent into concrete partnerships between companies, startups, researchers and institutions.

The four focus areas of the dialogue were: Promoting co-creation and scaling of innovative cybersecurity solutions; Connecting industry and technology providers to drive real-world impact; Building cybersecurity talent and developing a future-ready workforce; Strengthening cybersecurity policies, standards and digital trust.

Key insights and recommendations from the dialogue will be consolidated into a white paper to contribute to future policy considerations for strengthening cybersecurity in Karnataka.

The Karnataka-Israel Cyber Dialogue aims to build a longer-term partnership moving from innovation to resilience, with deeper cooperation across government, industry, startups and academia for a safer digital future. (ANI)