FACTBOX-Israel a global leader in growing market for cyber weapons

Israel, a leading provider of hacking and surveillance tools known as cyber weapons, or spyware, is easing requirements on selling the technology abroad. * Global demand for offensive cyber systems is expected to rise 39% by 2027 to $9.7 billion, according to defense research group Market Forecast, which identified companies in the United States, Israel, and the European Union as dominating the market.

* Israel's annual exports of cyberattack tools amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, a source close to the industry estimated. That's a small chunk of Israel's $7 billion in cybersecurity exports, which are dominated by defensive technologies and account for close to 10% of the global market. * Israeli cyber startups have raised $539 million so far in 2019, compared with $828 million in all of 2018, according to data from Tracxn Technologies. This figure includes offensive and defensive technologies.

* London-based charity Privacy International ranked Israel in the top five globally for surveillance technologies, with 27 companies selling such systems.

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