MESSAGE
| DATE | 2025-12-05 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Cybertech the NSA and Israel
|
jpost.com
US former NSA director turns to Israel for innovation | The Jerusalem Post
8–10 minutes
ByANNA AHRONHEIM
DECEMBER 5, 2025 17:39
The career of Admiral (ret.) Michael Rogers reflects both his admiration
for Israeli resilience and his strategic belief that the country is
central to the future of not only cybersecurity but defense tech and
dual-use innovation.
This week, Rogers, the former head of the US National Security Agency
and US Cyber Command, sat down with Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post
on the sidelines of the International DefenseTech Summit, led by the
Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development, in
collaboration with the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center
at Tel Aviv University.
It was far from being his first time in Israel. The first few times were
in the 1980s, when the biggest security challenge for Israel was
Palestinian terrorism, and there were military checkpoints on highways.
Now, while there are no longer checkpoints along Israeli highways, the
threat is not only Palestinian terrorism, but ballistic missiles and
drone attacks from neighboring countries, as well as Iran and the
Houthis in Yemen.
Times have changed, and so has warfare. And so has the innovative
technology being churned out by Israeli defense-tech start-ups and the
large defense companies.
Rogers often remarked that what impressed him most about Israel was not
only its technical excellence but the country’s societal resilience
under constant geopolitical pressure. Speaking to D&T, he noted that the
adaptability and creativity of Israeli entrepreneurs mirrored the
urgency of their national security environment.
Israeli cyber security; illustration. (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK/motioncenter)
Israeli cyber security; illustration. (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK/motioncenter)
“The last two times that I’ve been in Israel, I was under rocket
attacks,” he said, chuckling that it was different from being under
rocket attacks in Afghanistan or Iraq.
“I was at dinner with a friend, and we were sitting at a bar, and people
started seeing alerts on their phones and calmly walked to a center
corridor for shelter. I was mentally thinking how we would need to
respond should there be an impact – I’m conditioned to do that. And
everyone around me was calm. If we were in a restaurant in New York
City, there would be panic. It amazed me,” he said.
After retiring from the US Navy in 2018, Rogers quickly gravitated
toward Israel’s hi-tech sector.
“It was a strategic thought process. I wanted to stay involved in
technology, defense, and national security. I spent a lot of time
working in various nations and various defense ecosystems,” he said.
He joined Team8, the Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm created by
veterans of Unit 8200, Israel’s elite signal intelligence unit. As an
operating partner, Rogers advised start-ups on global expansion and
helped shape strategies related to cyberdefense and intelligence.
His move to Team8 was not without controversy. Some former NSA
colleagues criticized his decision to join a firm so closely linked to
Unit 8200, arguing it blurred lines between US intelligence leadership
and foreign military-linked ventures.
But Rogers has defended his role as part of a broader mission to foster
global collaboration in cybersecurity, stressing that threats are
transnational and require partnerships across borders. While Israel and
the United States have enjoyed a clear technological advantage over the
past few decades, adversaries continue to work to overcome and negate
that technology.
“What happens if that [technological advantage] is not the case? If we
face adversaries who are technologically peers, or even better? What
does that mean for us? We cannot assume that we will always have the
technological advantage,” he said.
According to Rogers, the large defense companies with their strong
capabilities, capacities, and capital are “no longer enough.”
“We need to access a broader range of partners and technologies. We are
using assets that are costing billions of dollars to take down cheaper
assets. That’s not cost-effective. We need capabilities faster at a
larger scale and cheaper,” he said. “That’s a key for the future.”
Rogers added that the traditional models “aren’t enough anymore” to
handle problems and enemies that will only grow in complity and challenges.
“We need a different approach.”
But, Rogers warned, “don’t ever be seduced by technology. It’s an
important element of defense, but it is not an end-all and be-all. Don’t
fall into the trap that technology has given you the ultimate advantage.”
Combining American intelligence leadership with Israeli defense expertise
In a move that blends American intelligence leadership with Israeli
defense expertise, Rogers has stepped into the private sector as a
senior partner at Aurelius Capital, a newly unveiled investment fund
headquartered in Tel Aviv, New York, and London.
The fund, which emerged from stealth in October 2025, completed an
initial $50 million raise and is targeting $150m. to back start-ups in
artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and space technologies.
The leadership roster reads like a who’s who of defense and
intelligence. Rogers is joined by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Eshel, former
commander of the Israel Air Force, and Udi Lavi, former deputy director
of the Mossad. The fund is spearheaded by Alon Lifshitz and Tomer Jacob,
partners at Hanaco Ventures, who bring decades of venture capital and
corporate finance experience.
Rogers’s presence at Aurelius is particularly significant. Having
steered the NSA through the fallout of the Snowden leaks and led US
cyberoperations against Russian interference, he now brings that
strategic lens to Israel’s defense-tech ecosystem.
Rogers told D&T that he didn’t want to get involved with the
defense-tech scene until he saw “the power of innovation on the
battlefield.”
And Aurelius Capital positions itself as more than a traditional VC
firm. According to Rogers, it combines cutting-edge leadership, venture
capital agility, and private-equity depth, aiming to incubate companies
that can scale globally while meeting urgent defense requirements.
The timing of Aurelius’s launch reflects a growing urgency in global
security circles. With ongoing conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, and
Asia, and rising threats to critical infrastructure, the appetite for
defense-tech innovation is surging. Aurelius aims to be a key player in
meeting these challenges head-on.
This global awakening has led to unprecedented defense spending. And
Aurelius is designed to meet this momentum, with the fund’s strategy
built on speed and flexibility and targeting companies with clear
dual-use applications. The fund, Lifshitz told D&T in a recent
interview, focuses on “shields, not swords,” investing in cybersecurity,
drone detection, and other nonlethal technologies.
“What we are seeing in the last year or so is the next era of defense.
It’s when national security needs meet deep tech,” Lifshitz explained,
adding that the geopolitics of the past few years “was like the perfect
storm. Mega powers weren’t able to win wars (e.g., Russia vs Ukraine,
Israel vs Hamas), the geopolitical tensions in Asia are extremely high,
and the Chinese military is a huge user of deep tech and advanced
technologies with AI.”
The fund’s mission is clear to Lifshitz.
“We want to secure the future of Israel. Since October 7, our ability to
give back is by supporting and building the new era of defense tech
through defense and civilian dual-use companies,” he said. “Whatever
secures the future of
Israel will secure the future of the US, too.”
Israel’s defense sector has long been fueled by talent from the
military, including Unit 8200. Aurelius seeks to harness that pipeline
while offering start-ups access to international markets and strategic
guidance from figures like Rogers.
“Israel has proven its resilience, time and again,” Rogers noted,
praising the country’s ability to innovate under pressure and adapt
rapidly to evolving threats. And while over 300 start-ups have been
founded since the onset of the Israel-Hamas War, with talk of possible
defense tech being only hype, Rogers was adamant that this is the way
forward.
“Defense tech isn’t hype. Look at the scale of investment around the
world. This is something deeper, fundamental. A lot of companies, not
all, will succeed. There will be a high percentage of failures.
Start-ups aren’t for the faint of heart; it’s a way of life. But Israel
has gone through crises and wars, and necessity is the mother of
invention,” he said.
“I have real respect for the country and the people here,” Rogers said.
“I love the innovative spirit, and not only in defense. Innovation is in
Israel’s culture.”
--
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