Cervello

About Cervello

Cervello operates as a specialized cybersecurity firm focused on the global railway industry, a sector increasingly exposed to cyber threats due to rapid digitalization. The company was founded in 2017 by Roie Onn, Shaked Kafzan, and Nadav Avidan, all veterans of elite technology and intelligence units of the Israeli Defense Forces. Their collective background in high-level cybersecurity operations, including hacking, risk assessment, and malware analysis, directly informed the company's mission to address a significant security gap they identified in rail transportation.

The firm's core offering is the Cervello Platform, a software-based solution designed to provide comprehensive, non-intrusive cybersecurity for the entire rail operational environment. This includes signaling systems, rolling stock, operational technology (OT), IT infrastructure, and IoT devices. The platform functions by passively monitoring network traffic to provide full visibility, detect vulnerabilities, and identify threats in real-time. It employs a Zero-Trust approach and uses patented algorithms and machine learning to analyze behavior and prioritize alerts based on their potential operational impact, a critical feature for an industry where safety and service continuity are paramount. The system is designed to be deployed either on-premise or in the cloud and can be integrated with existing rail equipment or installed during manufacturing. The centralized management console unifies data from all monitored sources into a single dashboard, offering asset management, threat intelligence, and compliance monitoring.

Cervello targets transit operators and infrastructure managers, providing them with tools to manage cyber risks, ensure regulatory compliance (such as with ENISA and TSA directives), and maintain operational resilience. Revenue is generated through the deployment of its platform, which helps clients avoid service disruptions and safety incidents caused by cyber-attacks. A notable achievement includes a partnership with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), making Cervello the first known cybersecurity company to secure the rail infrastructure of an entire country. The company has also secured a U.S. patent for using artificial intelligence to author rail cybersecurity policies. In July 2019, Cervello raised $4.5 million in a seed funding round to fuel product development and international expansion.