Check Point CEO: “This is a turning point that requires us to start using AI to protect against AI”
As cyber threats evolve, Nadav Zafrir says the cybersecurity firm is betting on talent, acquisitions, and new AI defense models.
"We need to understand that the competitive advantage we have created over decades is currently at a point that is more challenging than ever. Not only because of the situation in Israel, but because artificial intelligence equalizes the starting conditions. We are in a competition that is starting now, and we are already lagging behind," said Nadav Zafrir, CEO of Check Point, in a conversation with Sophie Shulman at the Calcalist Forecasts Conference, in collaboration with Bank Hapoalim and the Phoenix.
How do you defuse the AI bomb, and what does it mean for Check Point?
"This is a revolution whose power is difficult to overstate. This is a turning point that requires us to take everything we have done in the last 30 years and make sure that it is still relevant. It requires us to start protecting a completely new environment that we all use but do not fully understand the risks it brings with it, and it requires us to start using AI to protect against AI. For us, as a company with 30 years of data, this is an opportunity to update the operating concept of cyber defense in the AI era."
You announced an ambitious recruitment plan, how is it progressing? Is there any AI talent left in Israel with Nvidia around?
"The competition has never been easy, and it is not getting easier. The type of talent we need in this era is not the same as 10 years, five years, or even a year ago. This is a field that changes very quickly; by the time I finish this sentence, an update will have come out, and someone with 'vibe coding' will have already changed something. At the beginning of the year, we set a goal of 500 new employees. We are 70-80% of the way there. We are fighting for everyone, and this is not only the war against Nvidia but also about defining what type of talent is suitable for this era. In some areas, we simply couldn't find it."
Is that why you bought a company in Switzerland?
"The company we bought in Switzerland (Lakera) built its own model that forms the basis of our engine to protect the AI environment end-to-end. We reviewed at least 12 companies, went deep into them, and talked to the people. We prefer to buy companies in Israel, because it's easier and because we're patriotic, but we didn't find the depth of talent and capabilities we needed, so we went and acquired a company in Switzerland."
In terms of salary, you're not known as being particularly generous.
"It's not a matter of generosity but of how you bring the right people at the right time to the right place and provide the right incentives. Of course, you also have to pay a salary at the end of the month, and we fight and compete for every talent and every company. We have the ability to do it end-to-end."
There is a feeling that cyber is back to the happy days of 2021.
"We are booming in our ability to reinvent almost every engine in the current operating concept. That is why we are seeing intense investments and mergers. Everyone understands that there is a 'flag on the hill,' and everyone is striving to grab it. It is not about generosity but about bringing in the right people with the right incentives. We are fighting for every talent and every company."
The three elephants in the room, Wiz, CyberArk, and Armis, cannot be ignored. On one hand, this is a huge compliment; on the other, it seems no one wants to embark on the long journey of an IPO anymore.
"We need to applaud them. They embarked on the journey more than a decade ago and had their ups and downs, and sleepless nights. It is good for all of us that this is happening; it attracts investors and is fantastic. After all that, yes, they won’t become Check Point. If we want to be at the forefront of tech, we need an ecosystem, and part of that is sustainable companies that stay here and pay taxes, despite everything that has happened and will happen. Check Point is a junior school; a large portion of people who leave the military and universities go through us before they start a startup. It’s an entire ecosystem that starts with education and the military, and that needs to be strengthened too."
Can Unit 8200 replicate in AI what it did in cyber?
"They take young people and give them tasks that are almost impossible, with responsibilities that no one at that age would normally take on. But 8200 doesn’t produce technological depth; it produces human depth, leadership abilities and self-belief that are unparalleled. In the field of AI, technology equalizes starting conditions. There could be two kids in two countries that we haven't heard of in the last six months who are developing something we don’t know about, and so we’re already lagging behind."
What will the next government have to do to create incentives to stay here?
"We hope Israel will be a place where people want to live, in every way. Talents like the ones we're talking about can move their residences from place to place. The biggest threat is brain drain. We need anchors like Check Point that will continue to lead and be a center of attraction. The second thing is stability. An unstable place makes it hard to do business. The fact that we are where we are is another miracle that can only exist in this country, but nothing lasts forever. And the next thing is to create economic conditions, including taxation."
