Viber

Additional Details

Viber is a cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones, tablets, and computers that allows users to exchange text messages and files over the internet, as well as make audio and video calls. Originally developed by the Israeli company Viber Media, which was founded in 2010 by Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinnik. Marco and Magazinnik are also co-founders of the peer-to-peer media and file-sharing client iMesh. Viber was acquired in 2014 by the Japanese group Rakuten. The company was subsequently renamed Rakuten Viber. According to the company's statements, development of Viber's core functionality historically originated from its Tel Aviv office — a testament to its roots — even though the legal entity was registered in Cyprus. Many of the new companies in Israel are founded by individuals who have come out of Unit 8200 , a unit within the Israeli Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces - Israel's equivalent of Britain's GCHQ or America's NSA - a "signals intelligence" agency which has moved heavily into cyber-operations.