Eviatar Matania

Eviatar Matania was born in 1966 in Haifa

Eviatar Matania was born in Haifa on June 11, 1966. When he was 7, his elder brother Ehud was killed in the Yom Kippur War, a loss he links to his choice of meaningful military service. He attended the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa.

He graduated from the Talpiot program. He earned a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree in mathematics from Tel Aviv University. He later completed a PhD in judgment and decision making at the Hebrew University.

After his army service he worked in Israeli high tech, including at Pitango Venture Capital. In 2002 he became head of the Talpiot and Psagot programs at the Defense Ministry's Mafat. In that role he created the Havatzalot and Nahshon programs.

In January 2012 he began heading the new National Cyber Bureau and led Israel's national cyber defense strategy. In 2015 he became the first head of the National Cyber Directorate, which also included the new National Cyber Security Authority. He finished his term in January 2018.

Since 2018 he has been a professor of political science at Tel Aviv University and heads its master's program in security studies. From 2018 to 2020 he co-headed a national initiative on smart systems, and in 2021 he published the book Cybermania with Amir Rapaport. He lives in Shoham, is married to Maya, and has 5 children.