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

Reuters

TEL AVIV, Aug 22 (Reuters) - 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 defence 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 cyber attack 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. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Tova Cohen Editing by Timothy Heritage and Giles Elgood)