Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center

What Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center does

The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) is an endowed academic research center at Tel Aviv University, founded in 2014 and funded by the Blavatnik family, that conducts interdisciplinary cybersecurity and digital trust research spanning computer science, social sciences, law, management, and behavioral economics. The center directly supports approximately 250 researchers, has funded 95 research projects, and has guided 200+ graduate students toward careers in digital trust, with the first cohort now entering tenure-track positions. It does not sell a software product and offers no API; its outputs are research publications (in venues such as USENIX Security, IEEE S&P, ICLR, and Nature), policy advisories, and frameworks such as the ProGReSS Cyber Capability Maturity Model.

The center's core research programs include deep code alignment for hardware Trojan detection, maximin-game frameworks for generative impersonation attacks on industrial control systems, cryptocurrency pump-and-dump detection, ML-based deception detection in video, NLP analysis of deceptive language, and adversarial generative AI detection. It hosts three flagship annual conferences — Cyber Week (Nov 9-12, 2026), AI Week (Nov 9-11, 2026), and DefenseTech Week (Dec 2-3, 2026) — which serve as the primary global gathering points for the cybersecurity research community, and publishes a monthly newsletter and an annual Impact Report.

The business model is nonprofit and university-based: revenue is generated through a combination of the Blavatnik endowment, competitive research grants, fee-based executive education delivered in partnership with Lahav Executive Education (Coller School of Management), and conference/event revenue. The customer base is diversified across academic researchers, government and policy makers (including Israeli ministries and the World Bank via Dr. Lior Tabansky), healthcare (e.g., Sheba Medical Center), and a long tail of executive education participants; the center is led by Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel (Head), Dr. Lior Tabansky (Head of Research Development), and Dr. Yaniv Harel (Chief Strategy Officer).

Name

Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center

Legal name

Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center

Website

https://en-cyber.tau.ac.il

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) is an endowed Tel Aviv University research center conducting interdisciplinary cybersecurity and digital trust research, directly supporting ~250 researchers and 200+ graduate students while hosting global Cyber Week, AI Week, and DefenseTech Week conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Research & Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), National Security (928110), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Cyber Defense & Information Security (National Security) (BPAIAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cybersecurity Learning Platforms (EDAFANAF), Grid Cyber Risk Management, Governance, Compliance & Audit (NERC CIP/IEC 62443) (EUADANAC), Security & Authentication ICs for Memory/Storage (Secure Controllers/Encryption) (HDAHAKAJ)

Keywords

• Cybersecurity research
• Executive education
• Academic conferences
• Digital trust
• Research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Tel Aviv

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: The Blavatnik ICRC operates primarily as a funded research center. The center has awarded numerous research grants to researchers from leading institutions worldwide. While specific funding amounts are not publicly disclosed, the center has funded 95 projects across STEM, social, behavioral, and managerial disciplines.
2. Executive Education Programs: Fee-based executive education programs including 'Effective Cybersecurity' delivered in collaboration with Lahav Executive Education. Participants pay for the program which includes local transportation, hotel booking services, most meals, visa application letters, and cultural visits. Pricing is quote-based, not publicly disclosed.
3. Conference and Event Revenue: Revenue generated from major annual events including Cyber Week, AI Week, and DefenseTech Week. These conferences feature company visits, practitioner sessions, and networking opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) is an academic research center at Tel Aviv University that conducts interdisciplinary cybersecurity research, funds faculty and student research projects through grants, hosts annual conferences (Cyber Week, AI Week, DefenseTech Week), runs executive education programs for senior leaders, and publishes research and policy outputs on cyber defense, digital trust, AI security, and emerging technologies.

Product overview

The Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) is an academic research center at Tel Aviv University focused on cybersecurity and digital trust. Rather than offering a unified software product, ICRC operates as a multi-faceted research organization providing: (1) three major annual conferences - Cyber Week, AI Week, and DefenseTech Week - that serve as platforms for knowledge exchange and industry engagement; (2) the Effective Cybersecurity Executive Education Program in partnership with Lahav Executive Education for professional training; (3) a monthly newsletter (Monthly Cyber News) and annual publications repository tracking research outputs from 2014-present; (4) competitive research grant funding for interdisciplinary cybersecurity projects across AI security, cryptography, industrial control systems, and policy; and (5) the ProGReSS cyber capability maturity model for sectoral resilience assessment. ICRC directly supports approximately 250 researchers and has funded 95 projects training over 200 graduate students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cyber Week: Annual international cybersecurity conference hosted by the center at Tel Aviv University
• AI Week
• DefenseTech Week
• Effective Cybersecurity Executive Education Program
• Monthly Cyber News

Quantifiable outcome

• 95 research projects funded yielding publications in top-tier academic venues
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability16 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lahav Executive Education, Coller School of ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership delivering the 'Effective Cybersecurity' executive education program. Combines ICRC's cybersecurity expertise with Lahav's executive education capabilities. Program features lectures from Israeli cyber ecosystem leaders, practitioners, and scientists, including company visits to Israeli and multinational tech corporations.
• Center for AI and Data Science (TAD), Tel Aviv UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Call for Proposals partnership on Cybersecurity, AI, Intelligent Systems, and Digital Trust. TAD was established in 2020 to advance research and education in AI and data science. Both centers co-fund research and host workshops and conferences.
• World BankmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDr. Lior Tabansky advises the World Bank on digital transformation and cyber resilience. This advisory role extends to European, African, Singaporean, and Israeli government leaders on national cyber strategy.
• Ministry of Interior (Israel)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation on Project 265 - National Digital Israel Initiative promoting digital transformation in local government. Also involves Jezreel Valley and Digital Israel Headquarters at the Office for Social Equality.
• Sheba Medical CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on secure shared learning in healthcare, including inference of hospital infection risks. Prof. Gidi Rechavi and Prof. Galia Rahav are world-renowned scientific experts involved in this research.
• Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego (Pułaski Foundation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish think tank partnership for cybersecurity policy research. Dr. Lior Tabansky's research on emulation of Israeli national cyber ecosystem was published and shared with the foundation for policy analysis.
• Digital Israel HeadquartersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Project 265 on digital transformation in local government. Digital Israel is located at the Office for Social Equality and works on national digital initiatives.
• University of New MexicominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on Detecting Cryptocurrency Scams and Measuring Cryptocurrency Quality. Prof. Marie Vasek from University of New Mexico co-authored research with Prof. Neil Gandal of TAU.
• American University Washington DCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on Dynamics and Geography of the Cybersecurity Industry. Prof. Erran Carmel from Kogod School of Business collaborated with Dr. Tali Hatuka of TAU.
• Georgetown UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on deep learning approaches for network security problems. Prof. Kobbi Nissim from Georgetown University co-authored research with Iftach Housner of TAU.
• Hebrew UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-PI partnership in 2025 CfP research. Dr. Ariel Goldstein from Hebrew University collaborates with Prof. Tomer Geva of TAU Coller School on adversarial Generative AI detection research.
• TechnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on Detection of Cyber Attacks in Industrial Control Systems. Ronen Talmon from Technion collaborated with TAU and HUJI researchers on authentication systems facing generative attacks.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC): Berkeley's interdisciplinary cybersecurity research center bridging computer science, social science, law, and policy. Highly comparable in mission, funding model (university + grant), interdisciplinary scope, and policy translation focus to ICRC.
• Oxford Department of Computer Science - Cyber Security Centre: Oxford's interdisciplinary cyber security research group spanning cryptography, systems, and policy. Comparable in producing top-tier academic publications, training graduate students, and engaging with UK and international governments on cyber policy.
• Georgia Tech Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP): Georgia Tech's flagship interdisciplinary cybersecurity research institute combining cryptography, systems, policy, and economics. Comparable in supporting a large affiliated researcher community, publishing in top venues, and engaging with government and industry on policy.
• ETH Zurich - Center for Information Security (ZISC): ETH Zurich's interdisciplinary cyber research center bridging computer science, cryptography, and policy. Comparable as a European university-affiliated cybersecurity research hub producing top-tier research and executive-level training.
• NYU Center for Cyber Security (CCS): NYU's interdisciplinary cybersecurity research center combining computer science, law, and social science. Comparable in interdisciplinary scope and policy translation focus, though US-based rather than Israeli ecosystem-anchored.

Broad incumbents

• MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL): MIT's premier interdisciplinary computing research lab. Comparable in producing top-tier academic publications, training graduate students, and conducting cross-disciplinary cybersecurity research spanning cryptography, systems security, and AI safety.
• SANS Institute: Leading global cybersecurity training and certification organization. Comparable in delivering professional/technical training to practitioners and executives, though SANS operates commercially while ICRC's executive program is university-anchored.
• RSA Conference (RSA LLC): The largest annual global cybersecurity conference franchise. Comparable to ICRC's Cyber Week in serving as a top-of-funnel community and networking platform for cybersecurity practitioners, though RSA is a commercial multi-track event versus ICRC's academic conference.
• Stanford Internet Observatory / Cyber Policy Center: Stanford's interdisciplinary cybersecurity and policy hub combining computer science, law, and international affairs. Comparable as a leading university-affiliated cyber research center producing top-tier policy and technical research, though broader in scope beyond technical cybersecurity.
• Carnegie Mellon University - SEI / CERT Division: CMU's federally-funded cybersecurity research hub producing foundational technical research, vulnerability analysis, and cyber capability maturity models (similar to ICRC's ProGReSS framework). Strong parallel as an academic research center with government funding and practitioner training programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TAUVOD
• Facebookfacebook.com/globaltau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icrctlv
• Instagraminstagram.com/tauinternational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center