TowerSec

TowerSec, founded in 2012, established itself as a specialized vendor of on-board cybersecurity software for the automotive sector. The company was the creation of Israeli cybersecurity experts Saar Dickman, Guy Ruvio, and Yuval Weisglass. Dickman, the CEO, brought entrepreneurial experience from previous ventures like Touchdown Technologies and Cogniview. The CTO, Yuval Weisglass, had a decade-long background as an R&D Director at the Israeli Ministry of Defense and held a degree in Electrical Engineering.

The firm concentrated on developing real-time, embedded software designed to shield vehicles from hacking and unauthorized intrusions. Its core business involved providing these cybersecurity solutions directly to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), their suppliers, and aftermarket telematics producers. The company's main offerings were ECUSHIELD and TCUSHIELD. ECUSHIELD was an embeddable product for electronic control units (ECUs) or gateways, designed to detect and thwart hacking attempts, intrusions, and disruptions to critical communications in real-time. TCUSHIELD focused on securing infotainment and telematics units against harmful wireless communications. This business model positioned TowerSec to address the growing security vulnerabilities in the connected and increasingly autonomous vehicle market.

A significant milestone for the company occurred in January 2016, when it was acquired by HARMAN International Industries, a major player in connected technologies for automotive and other markets. The acquisition was valued at an estimated $70-75 million. Following the acquisition, TowerSec's technology was integrated into HARMAN's broader '5+1' security architecture, which aimed to protect multiple vulnerability points in a connected car, from hardware to over-the-air (OTA) updates. The co-founders transitioned into leadership roles within HARMAN's automotive cybersecurity division, with Dickman becoming VP of Automotive Cyber Security and Weisglass taking on roles as GM & VP of Automotive Cybersecurity. This acquisition marked the successful culmination of TowerSec's journey, transitioning from a focused startup to a core component of a major industry supplier's security strategy.

Keywords: automotive cybersecurity, vehicle network protection, ECU security, TCU security, embedded software security, connected car security, autonomous vehicle security, HARMAN, Saar Dickman, Yuval Weisglass, Guy Ruvio, ECUSHIELD, TCUSHIELD, intrusion detection, real-time protection, cyber threats, OEM supplier, telematics security, OTA security, automotive software