CyberArk Software Ltd

Target Profile

Executive Summary

CyberArk Software Ltd. is a leading enterprise cybersecurity company specializing in Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Identity Security solutions. Founded in 1999 in Israel by two veterans of Israeli military intelligence units, CyberArk has grown into a NASDAQ-listed company with approximately 8,000–9,000 global employees and $923 million in annual revenue as of 2024. The company was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in February 2026 for approximately $25 billion, representing one of the largest exits in Israeli technology history.

The documented Israel/Palestine nexus operates across four vectors. The economic presence is the most substantial: CyberArk is incorporated in Israel, maintains its primary R&D headquarters in Petah Tikva, operates a second development centre in Beer’sheba at the Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park, and generates significant corporate tax revenue for the Israeli state. The company benefits from Israeli “Preferred Technology Enterprise” tax incentives and the acquisition generated an estimated $2 billion in one-time Israeli tax revenue. The political involvement is documented through CEO Matt Cohen’s October 2023 public statement expressing solidarity with Israel after the October 7 attacks, praising employees who “bravely volunteered” for IDF reserve duty, and declaring “We will prevail” — a level of explicit political engagement not replicated for other conflicts such as Ukraine. The military-adjacent dimension includes the company’s membership in the Israeli Cyber Companies Consortium (IC3) led by state-owned defence prime Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and the documented IDF service backgrounds of founders Udi Mokady (Unit 8200), Alon Cohen (Mamram), and executive Omer Grossman (25 years in IDF cyber command). The digital vector is weaker: while CyberArk maintains integration partnerships with Israeli-origin technology companies including Wiz, no direct contracts with Israeli government cloud initiatives (Project Nimbus) or surveillance technology have been identified.

Notably, no direct contracts between CyberArk and the Israeli Ministry of Defence, IDF, or Israeli security services have been identified in public procurement records. The company is not listed in the UN OHCHR Business and Human Rights database of companies involved in settlement activity. The primary reseller relationship with Matrix IT — which does appear in the UN database and provides services to Israeli defence bodies — does not constitute a direct contractual relationship between CyberArk and those end users.

The resulting BRS score of 635 places CyberArk in Tier B (Severe), driven primarily by the V-ECON score of 9.20 reflecting the company’s deep economic integration with the Israeli economy through corporate structure, R&D presence, and tax contribution.

Timeline of Relevant Events

Corporate Overview

Structure and Ownership

CyberArk Software Ltd. was incorporated under Israeli law and operated as an independent publicly traded company on NASDAQ (ticker: CYBR) from 2014 until its acquisition by Palo Alto Networks in February 2026. The company maintained a dual-headquarters structure: primary R&D and Israeli headquarters in Petah Tikva, and US operational headquarters in Newton, Massachusetts. Pre-acquisition major institutional shareholders included BlackRock, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, and ARK Invest. Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) held approximately 46% at IPO and maintained a board seat through Lead Independent Director Gadi Tirosh.

Israeli Entities and Franchise Relationships

CyberArk operates two primary R&D facilities in Israel: the global headquarters in Petah Tikva and a development centre at Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park in Beer’sheva. The company is a member of the Israeli Cyber Companies Consortium (IC3), established in 2016 under the Israeli Ministry of Economy and led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a state-owned defence prime contractor.

Matrix IT Ltd. is a confirmed CyberArk authorized reseller in Israel. Who Profits documentation confirms Matrix IT provides computing services and products to Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israeli military, Israeli Air Force, Israeli Navy, Military Intelligence Directorate, Directorate of Defense Research and Development, Israel Prison Service, IAI, Rafael, and Elbit. A Matrix IT subsidiary (Matrix I.T. Global Services Ltd.) is located in Modi’in Illit settlement in the West Bank. However, no evidence has been identified of direct joint development programmes, co-production agreements, or technology transfer arrangements between CyberArk and Israeli defence primes.

Domain Summaries

V-MIL: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

The V-MIL audit identified several mechanisms of potential military involvement. CyberArk is a confirmed member of the Israeli Cyber Companies Consortium (IC3), established in 2016 under the Israeli Ministry of Economy and led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a state-owned defence prime contractor. The company maintains an authorized reseller relationship with Matrix IT Ltd., which provides services to multiple Israeli defence bodies. The company’s R&D centre at Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park in Beer’sheva co-locates with the IDF C4I Corps and Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, though this geographic proximity does not constitute a service contract.

The controlling principals include documented IDF service: co-founder Udi Mokady is a confirmed Unit 8200 alumnus (IDF Military Intelligence, signals intelligence); co-founder Alon Cohen served in IDF Mamram computing units; Chief Trust Officer Omer Grossman is a former Head of IDF Cyber Defense Operations Center and Head of Mamram with 25+ years of IDF service. CEO Matt Cohen publicly acknowledged in October 2023 that “a small percentage of our team has been called to military reserve duty” and expressed pride in employees serving in the IDF.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence has been identified of direct bilateral contracts between CyberArk and Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Israel Prison Service, or Israel Border Police in publicly accessible procurement records. CyberArk does not appear in SIBAT defence export listings as a defence manufacturer. No tender awards, framework agreements, or memoranda of understanding with named Israeli security bodies have been identified. The company’s product portfolio consists entirely of enterprise software with no publicly marketed ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec, or purpose-built military hardware variants. CyberArk is not listed in the UN OHCHR business and human rights database of companies involved in settlement activity, though Matrix IT (the reseller) is listed.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-DIG: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

The V-DIG audit examined CyberArk’s technology stack, vendor relationships, and digital infrastructure. The company maintains documented integration partnerships with several Israeli-origin technology vendors operating in the enterprise cybersecurity space, including Wiz (product-level integration announced in 2023), SentinelOne (endpoint security partnership), NICE RPA (robotic process automation), and Check Point (firewall administration security). The Wiz integration represents a substantive commercial relationship with joint customer-facing materials.

CyberArk’s SEC 20-F filings disclose that a substantial majority of the company’s long-lived assets are located in Israel, reflecting heavy concentration of R&D and engineering infrastructure. The company operates R&D facilities at its global headquarters in Petah Tikva and maintains a development presence at Gav-Yam Negev High-Tech Park in Beer’sheva. The Beer’sheva facility was inaugurated in June 2021 and expanded in April 2022 to 720 square metres targeting 100 employees. The Gav-Yam park is geographically adjacent to Ben-Gurion University and the IDF C4I Corps base.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence has been identified of CyberArk engaging systems integrators that mandated or deployed Israeli-origin technology as part of major technology programmes. No evidence of using or reselling Israeli-origin facial recognition, biometric identification, behavioural analytics platforms (Trigo, BriefCam, AnyVision/Oosto, Trax) or surveillance technologies has been identified. No evidence of CyberArk holding direct contracts or formal participation agreements with Israeli government cloud initiatives, specifically Project Nimbus or comparable state-backed digital infrastructure programmes. CyberArk is NOT confirmed as a subcontractor to Project Nimbus; AWS and Google are the prime contractors for that initiative. No evidence of CyberArk providing AI or machine learning systems to Israeli state, military, or security bodies under specifically documented supply arrangements has been identified.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-ECON: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

The V-ECON audit identified the most substantial nexus. CyberArk is incorporated in Israel and has maintained its primary R&D and operational headquarters in Petach Tikva since founding in 1999. The company inaugurated a dedicated R&D centre at Gav-Yam Negev Tech Park in Beersheba in May 2021, subsequently expanded in December 2021, representing a capital commitment to Israeli physical infrastructure in a government-designated technology zone. No capital investments by CyberArk in the West Bank, Gaza, or Golan Heights are documented.

CyberArk benefits from Preferred Enterprise tax incentives on qualifying IP income under Israeli law, with eligibility for “Preferred Technology Enterprise” (12% corporate tax on capital gains) and “Special Preferred Technology Enterprise” (6% rate) status. Pre-acquisition, profits generated globally by CyberArk’s international subsidiaries flowed upward to the Israeli parent entity, contributing to Israeli corporate tax receipts. The company is characterized in Israeli business press and government communications as a flagship anchor company of the Israeli cybersecurity sector. The Beersheba R&D centre is located within the CyberSpark national cyber ecosystem, a government-initiated project explicitly designed to build a national cyber capital in the Negev region.

The $25 billion acquisition by Palo Alto Networks generated an estimated $2 billion (NIS 6.7 billion) in one-time capital gains tax revenue for the Israeli Treasury, based on 25-30% estimated Israeli ownership.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

CyberArk is a software and cybersecurity services company whose principal inputs are human capital and cloud infrastructure rather than physical goods. No public evidence has been identified regarding commercial relationships with Israeli agricultural aggregators, produce exporters, or goods-based supply chain counterparties. No evidence of settlement-origin products exists, as CyberArk produces software rather than physical goods. No offices, warehouses, or operational locations in the West Bank, Gaza, or Golan Heights are documented. No evidence of CyberArk or Palo Alto Networks holding Israeli sovereign bonds or Israel-focused investment funds as disclosed portfolio positions in SEC filings has been identified. No state ownership stake in CyberArk is documented, and no government board appointees are documented in CyberArk’s board composition disclosures.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-POL: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

The V-POL audit identified the most explicit political engagement. CEO Matt Cohen published a corporate blog post titled “Our Hearts Are Broken, But We Will Prevail” on October 13, 2023, six days after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7. The post described the attacks as “barbaric,” expressed “solidarity” with Israel, disclosed that employees had been called to IDF reserve duty, stated that “some employees have bravely volunteered,” and concluded with the declaration “We will prevail.” The company confirmed it continued to pay and support employees on military deployment, representing a form of in-kind labor-cost absorption associated with IDF reserve service.

This public stance contrasts sharply with the company’s response to the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was confined to a technical advisory blog post focused on wiper malware threats with no declarations of solidarity, no mention of employee mobilization, and no analogous “will prevail” framing. The company is not listed in the UN OHCHR database of businesses with activities in Israeli settlements.

CyberArk’s marketing explicitly foregrounds the military-intelligence background of founder Udi Mokady, with SC Media’s “Influencer” profile directly referencing his Unit 8200 service as foundational to his vision for privileged access management. The company’s 25th-anniversary communications reference Mokady’s intelligence background and frame the company’s origins in the Israeli military-technology ecosystem as a competitive differentiator.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

CyberArk’s primary Israeli presence is its headquarters in Petah Tikva, a city within the internationally recognized 1948 Green Line borders of Israel — not within the West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, or Gaza. No evidence has been identified placing CyberArk offices, data centers, service contracts, or subsidiary activities within Israeli settlements in the West Bank or occupied territories. The company’s SEC filings acknowledge that its software qualifies as “dual-use goods and technology” under Israeli export control law, but assert that current civilian commercial exports have not required defense export licenses. No formal BDS National Committee campaign naming CyberArk as a primary designated target has been verified in public sources. No direct corporate donation from CyberArk to the Friends of the IDF (FIDF), Jewish National Fund (JNF), settlement organizations, or affiliated parastatal bodies has been identified.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

BDS-1000 Score (V4)

• V_MAX: 9.20 Sum_OTHERS: 4.78
• BRS Score: 635 Tier: B (Severe)

The V_MAX of 9.20 is driven by the V-ECON domain score, reflecting CyberArk’s deep economic integration with the Israeli economy through corporate structure (Israeli incorporation, Israeli headquarters), substantial R&D presence (Petah Tikva, Beersheba), tax contribution (Preferred Technology Enterprise incentives, $2B one-time acquisition revenue), and role as an anchor company in the Israeli cybersecurity sector. The tier classification as “Severe” (BRS 635) reflects this dominant economic vector combined with documented political engagement through executive statements supporting IDF reserve duty.

Methodology Note

• Evidence-only standard: All claims trace to the four domain audits (V-MIL, V-DIG, V-ECON, V-POL). “No public evidence identified” is used where checks found nothing.
• Scale-free Impact calculation: Impact (I) = activity type (what the company does); Magnitude (M) = scale of involvement; Proximity (P) = directness to Israel/Palestine context.
• Temporal rule: Divested or exited operations are discounted. The Palo Alto Networks acquisition (February 2026) represents a structural change in ownership but does not alter the historical evidence record.
• Entity attribution: No transitive guilt — the Matrix IT reseller relationship does not constitute direct CyberArk contracts with Israeli defence end users, though it is documented in the evidence record.
• Settlement operations: Dual-counting applies where relevant — Matrix IT’s subsidiary in Modi’in Illit settlement counts for both V-ECON and V-POL where applicable.
• Vetting standard: This dossier follows the human vetting standard applied during score production: fabricated claims were rejected, divested operations discounted, and wrong-entity attributions removed. Soft claims are carried with caveats or excluded where evidence is insufficient.

End Notes