How Israel Became the World's Cybersecurity Superpower ft. Refael Franco of Code Blue

Most cyber conversations focus on prevention. Refael Franco focuses on what comes after. In this Cybertech interview, the Code Blue CEO & founder and former national cyber leader shares firsthand experience from some of Israel’s most serious cyber incidents.Before founding Code Blue, Refael Franco helped build Israel’s national cyber defense from the ground up. As one of the early leaders of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, he was responsible for protecting civilian infrastructure at a time when cyber threats were becoming very real.At Cybertech, Franco shared what it was like to manage a national cyber crisis in real time, including the Iranian attack that targeted Israel’s water systems. From the first hours of detection to hundreds of decisions made under pressure, this conversation offers a rare look into how cyber crises are actually handled when failure is not an option.Hosted by Yoel IsraelTimestamps00:00 – Introduction and Cybertech context01:30 – Building Israel’s National Cyber Directorate04:40 – The Iranian attack on Israel’s water infrastructure08:20 – How cyber crises are detected and stopped11:30 – Why Israel is a global cyber target14:10 – From national defense to Code Blue17:00 – What resilience really means in cyber20:30 – AI war rooms and crisis decision-making23:40 – New cyber threat patterns and geopolitics27:00 – Final thoughts---Thank you to our incredible partners for making this all possible!IsraelTech is proud to partner with Deel, the global all-in-one HR and payroll platform for teams in 150+ countries. To support the show, please go check out our partner Deel at: https://www.deel.com/israeltechyt/ IsraelTech is also proud to partner with Wadi Digital. Wadi drives growth for B2B tech, cybersecurity, and SaaS companies with expert-led performance marketing, turning strategy into real results. Check them out at https://wadidigital.com/---Subscribe to our weekly newsletter 👉🏼 https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/26afeab9-4044-458e-8b61-3bf45783da65?email=Unrecognised variableFollow IsraelTech on your fav social media feedX (Twitter): https://x.com/IsraelTechLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/israel-techFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelTech48Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/israeltech48/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@israeltech48Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7fkZX1RJk3kRvsumMNfwZ2Follow Yoel on your fav social media feedInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoeltisrael/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoeltisrael/X [Twitter]: https://twitter.com/YoelTIsraelFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/yoeltisraelFollow Franco on your fav social media feedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/refael-franco/?originalSubdomain=il