Cybersecurity firm Salvador Technologies has secured a $2.2 million funding grant from the Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation. The funding aims to accelerate the development of an AI-driven vulnerability monitoring and recovery management solution for Operational Technologies (OT) networks. The project is a collaborative effort between Salvador Technologies and Bastazo, a cybersecurity startup based in Arkansas, United States.

Alex Yevtushenko, CEO of Salvador Technologies, expressed his enthusiasm: "As we ramp up our penetration into the US market, this grant is an amazing achievement for us and we are very proud to be representing Israel cyber innovations. This recognition from the BIRD Foundation serves as an important cornerstone for our entry into the US market."

The joint solution will amalgamate Bastazo's threat simulation and detection capabilities with Salvador Technologies' rapid recovery framework. "The product that we are co-developing will help companies better see the weaknesses in their ICS and OT networks that allow ransomware to penetrate into their critical networks and recover rapidly from inevitable attacks," said Philip Huff, co-founder of Bastazo.

Salvador Technologies' patented rapid recovery technology offers three essential layers of defence, ensuring the operational continuity of workstations and servers of critical infrastructures and manufacturing systems. The innovation stems from the expertise of the company's founders, Alex Yevtushenko and Oleg Vusiker, both of whom have served over ten years in the National Cyber Unit and elite Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Jaron Lotan, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, highlighted the importance of the funding: "The BIRD Cyber program advances the US-Israeli partnership through cyber innovation and collaboration in order to build more secure and resilient critical infrastructure for the benefit of both countries. As a result of a comprehensive selection process, we are proud to award this grant to Salvador Technologies and Bastazo from this important program."

The BIRD Foundation's Cyber Program is a joint initiative involving the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), and the BIRD Foundation itself. The grant is part of the foundation's broader mission to facilitate joint industrial research and development between American and Israeli companies.

This funding is not just a financial boost but a significant recognition for Salvador Technologies and Bastazo, setting the stage for a new era in cybersecurity solutions aimed at protecting industrial control systems from ransomware and other cyber threats.