Beersheba, Israel

A MODERN metropolis rising from Israel's Negev desert stands on the frontline of a global war against hacking and cybercrime, fulfilling an ambition of the country's founding father.

David Ben Gurion famously said he wanted to make the Negev bloom. Today, in the streets of Beersheba, a city of 200,000, his dream is taking shape in a form he likely did not anticipate.