CTech’s Thursday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Citizen Lab calls on Francisco Partners to address impact of surveillance products. Verint is negotiating a $1 billion merger with NSO, an Israeli cyber surveillance company controlled by the private equity firm. Citizen Lab, a digital and human rights research group, sent an open letter to Francisco Partners, calling on the firm to address the impact of products offered by its portfolio companies. A spyware developed by NSO was used to spy on human rights activists, and journalists in the UAE and Mexico, according to past reports by Citizen Lab. Read more

 

Israel moves to conform to OECD cross-border taxation guidelines. The Israel Tax Authority is setting its sights on standardizing transfer pricing in Israel. An upcoming guideline will affect the subsidiaries of many multinational companies operating in the country. Read more

Czech automaker Škoda announced collaboration with four Israeli autotech startups. Škoda, which launched a Tel Aviv innovation lab last year, selected autotech startups Anagog, XM Cyber, Guardian, and Otonomo as partners. Read more

Israeli law that would regulate crypto cashing out postponed. Implementation of a new law that will regulate alternative financial services including cryptocurrency-related businesses in Israel was pushed back to October 1. Read more

Database software developer Redis Labs doubles its Tel Aviv office space. The Israel-based company lists Microsoft, eBay, Twitter and Apple among its customers. Read more

Online payment company BlueSnap snags competitor’s chief financial officer. The Massachusetts-based company is the latest stop in Boston tech veteran Chris Menard’s career. Read more

Founder of Business Wire donates $10 million to Israel’s University of Haifa. The donation will be used for the founding of a new campus consisting of at least four buildings at the port and downtown area of Haifa. Read more

Information security startup PerimeterX to recruit more engineers. PerimeterX develops an artificial intelligence-based system that acts to identify and block malicious bots. Read more

MediWound’s pineapple-based burn treatment approved for use on mustard gas burns. The Nasdaq-listed, Israel-based company received the FDA’s approval to expand the use of flagship burn treatment NexoBrid to those suffering from Sulfur Mustard injuries. Read more

Governments must act urgently to drive economic inclusion, according to a new OECD report. The OECD forum opened Tuesday at the organization’s Paris headquarters. Read more