Israel has in recent years become a cybersecurity powerhouse, as its large ecosystem of cyber startups experienced significant growth, despite an international financial slowdown that hit the rest of the industry. In 2016, over 300 Israeli cybersecurity firms raised just under $600 million in investment and funding, as concerns over security, privacy and espionage mounted. Already by September 2017, that sum was surpassed, with Israeli security tech firms having raised $626 million in funding, according to quarterly research by the IVC Research Center and law firm Zysman Aharoni Gayer & Co.