US seeks control of Israeli tech in aid talks, Check Point sees election cyberattack surge, monday.com rallies

Noa Washington wants more than a smaller aid bill. According to Globes, the real sticking point in talks on future US defense aid to Israel is who controls Israeli technology.

Noa Good morning, it's Monday, the twenty-sixth of October. I'm Noa.

Eli And I'm Eli.

Noa Today, the technology fight inside the US aid talks, a surge in cyberattacks ahead of Israel's election, and monday.com's stock, up about eighty percent since April.

Noa Globes reports that the main point of contention between Jerusalem and Washington over a new aid package is not money, but cooperation. US officials want Israeli know-how transferred to the US and managed there, including patents and joint development programs.

Eli Globes says that's a scenario Israel can't accept, because it would erode the technological edge its defense industries hold in export markets. The current memorandum of understanding, signed in 2016, gives Israel $3.3 billion a year in military financing, plus $500 million for air defense cooperation. It expires in 2028.

Noa And whatever replaces it will be smaller. According to Globes, both sides have already agreed to a major cut in that financing, and the conversion clause, which lets Israel spend part of the grant in shekels at home, goes to zero.

Eli That clause has been shrinking for years. It was about $815 million at the start of the agreement and about $250 million this year. Globes notes the big players, Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael, are covered by their American subsidiaries. The pressure falls on smaller firms and defense-tech startups, which will need a US subsidiary or a joint venture to win American contracts.

Noa Globes says the talks, led for Israel by Defense Ministry director general Amir Baram, may regain momentum after the US midterm elections.

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Noa Back to the news. Check Point published findings on Sunday showing a sharp rise in cyberattacks on Israeli organizations ahead of the election. CTech reports that in early October, Israeli organizations faced an average of 2,700 attacks a week, up 55 percent from a year earlier.

Eli Government bodies saw about 2,300 attacks a week, up 82 percent. Energy and infrastructure had the steepest rise, more than doubling to about 3,900 a week. Check Point says it verified about 87 attacks against Israel since the start of the month, most of them aimed at taking websites down or defacing them.

Noa The company also points to phishing. More than 1,200 election-related websites were registered in September and October, and about one in 47 was suspected of being malicious. One posed as a voter information system and collected ID numbers, names and home addresses.

Eli Check Point says groups have discussed denial of service attacks on election day against sites including the Knesset, the Israel Police and the Bank of Israel. And a database said to hold records of 6.5 million Israeli voters, which had leaked before, is being offered for sale again on the dark web. Check Point's Sivan Dror cautioned that wide circulation is not proof of credibility.

Noa To the markets. monday.com's shares rose 6.4 percent on Friday, Globes reports, finishing a week in which they jumped about 18 percent. The stock is back above $100, and up about 81 percent from its low in April.

Eli Some context. Globes puts monday.com's market cap at $4.5 billion, against a peak of more than $19 billion in 2021. Earlier this year it was hit in what became known as the SaaS apocalypse, as investors worried about what AI means for software sold by subscription.

Noa The company's answer has been to lean into AI. Last week it launched a platform for voice-based AI agents, which it says can hold conversations and close sales. Earlier this year it laid off about 620 people, 20 percent of its workforce, to cut management layers and focus on AI products.

Eli The next test is November ninth, when monday.com reports third-quarter results. Analysts expect revenue up 16.5 percent to $369 million, according to Globes.

Noa Israel Aerospace Industries has two stories this morning. First, CTech reports that the Israel Securities Authority is letting the company defer its only bond series, worth 154 million shekels, from December first to April 2027.

Eli It's a stopgap. The dispute is over what's called compensatory disclosure, the information IAI would give investors in place of security details it can't publish. Officials warned that losing its status as a reporting company would hurt its ability to raise money, ahead of a planned share issue next year. IAI executives are weighing an urgent court petition.

Noa Second, at a conference hosted by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth, the head of IAI's workers' union, Yair Katz, said the company is slowing hiring despite enormous demand, while it works out how much AI could reduce the need for new staff.

Eli Katz represents about 16,000 employees. According to Ynetnews, he has hired an AI adviser for the union, and argues that training plus slower recruitment can avoid layoffs. He also said IAI competes with Nvidia for engineers, and ranks as Israel's second most desirable employer, behind Nvidia.

Noa Finally, Malaysia and Waze. Last week Malaysia ordered civil servants to stop using the navigation app, citing data security. CTech reported that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Waze was bound to Israeli laws, without identifying a specific vulnerability.

Eli On Friday, Anwar went further. In Facebook posts reported by Urban Acres, he said the government could consider a complete ban once viable alternatives are available. Waze, which Google bought in 2013, called the suggestion that it collects sensitive government information completely false, according to Agence France-Presse.

Noa The government is pushing TuJu, a local app run by the Malaysian Highway Authority. Users have complained about unreliable directions, and the authority has apologised for disruptions after a sudden jump in users.

Noa Now the quick round-up.

Eli Mobileye's shares fell 5.9 percent on Friday to $6.54, a new all-time low, Globes reports, for a market value of $5.6 billion. Results are due Thursday, and the company has still not named a successor to chief executive Amnon Shashua.

Noa Palantir chief executive Alex Karp says only the US and China count in the AI race, with what he called a minor exception in Israel. CTech notes he didn't explain the remark, or name any Israeli company.

Eli JNS counts six Israeli-linked companies on Time's Best Inventions of 2026 list, among them Aidoc's medical imaging AI model, Nanox's 3D X-ray system and Beewise's beehive robot.

Noa And CTech looks at gender bias in Israel's cyber industry. Israel Innovation Authority data shows women are 5.1 percent of CEOs at private Israeli cyber companies founded between 2013 and 2024.

Eli One thing to watch. Mobileye reports on Thursday, and with its shares at a record low, investors will be listening for any word on who replaces Amnon Shashua as chief executive.

Noa This episode was brought to you by SkillSim. If you're a sales or customer success manager filling roles and you'd rather judge candidates on a full transcript and an AI score than a gut feeling, check them out at skillsim.co.

Eli Follow Israel Tech Daily in your podcast app, and find more stories at startuptofollow.com.

Noa See you tomorrow morning.