Lockheed Martin injects millions into cyber firm

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin is making a multimillion-dollar investment in Cybereason, a security firm founded by former elite Israeli digital warriors.

The move is more evidence of the defense industry’s large bet on cyber business, as well as the growing influence of Israel’s cyber expertise on the U.S. market.

{mosads}Cybereason helps companies scan their networks for unwanted activity. The firm claims its software can analyze eight million events per second.

Lockheed Martin — the government’s top contractor for several years running — said it will unleash the company’s platform on its own networks, as well as sell it to others.

The software’s “real-time detection and attack tracing capabilities enable us to effectively leverage threat intelligence and provide our government and commercial customers with a calculated, strategic approach to cyber defense,” said Rich Mahler, Lockheed Martin’s director of commercial cyber services, in a statement.

The defense giant did not release the amount of its investment, but reported estimates put it around $10 million.

While Cybereason is Boston-based, its co-founders cut their cyber chops working with the Israeli military’s Unit 8200, widely regarded as one of the world’s best breeding grounds for cyber savants.

American firms have taken note. In April, Lockheed Martin opened a cyber-focused subsidiary in Israel. EBay also opened up an Israeli-based research and development center after acquiring two cyber firms in the region.

Israel has quickly become the world’s second largest exporter of cyber products, generating roughly $3 billion in 2013 exports, according to Israel’s National Cyber Bureau.

Domestically, Lockheed Martin is also competing with other defense contracting giants that are also making a strong push into cybersecurity.

Raytheon — consistently a top-five government contractor — made a huge splash in April with its $1.9 billion acquisition of security firm Websense.