The Israel Defense Forces is uniquely vulnerable to cyberattacks that could lead to critical identity theft, warned the state comptroller in a damning report released Tuesday.
State comptroller Matanyahu Engleman also pointed to cyber security failures in Israel’s education system as well as in the tax authority, transportation infrastructure and water supply.
“The reports we published today are deeply troubling in terms of security and the security of all of our personal information,” Engelman said in a statement.
“But what may be revealed is also very disturbing,” he said. “Government should make [dealing with] Cyberbullying is a top priority… We will continue to monitor the government’s handling of this issue.”
The 33-page report from the State Comptroller’s Office points to “significant gaps” in the security of biometric information held by the IDF, including dental records, fingerprints and in some cases DNA samples potentially belonging to soldiers killed in action. are used for identification. Reports suggest that the military has not updated its privacy protection protocols since 1996.
The report also states that the biometric information of the dead soldiers is saved, “out of fear that hackers could use this information to steal and assume their identities.” Engleman points out that some IDF databases are protected at only a medium level of cyber security, when it should be at the highest level.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Engleman speaking during a conference of the ‘Besheva’ group in Jerusalem, February 7, 2022. (Jonathan Sindel/Flash90)
In response to the report, the IDF issued a statement saying it had begun studying and implementing most of England’s findings and recommendations to boost the security of its databases.
The military states that the databases referenced in the report “are located within the classified IDF network, and are not accessible to outside parties or exposed to unauthorized parties within the IDF.”
The IDF also noted that its privacy protection protocols, which have not been updated since 1996, “are in the process of being validated and updated,” and that the force will accept the comptroller’s recommendations to do so every few years. .
Engleman’s report also pointed to cyber security failures within the Ministry of Education, raising concerns that grades on the national matriculation exam – as well as the exam itself – could be easily accessed by hackers.
The report states that the ministry’s online system is protected by an outdated cyber security program, and the program’s creator stopped supporting that version in 2019.
When it comes to the tax authority, the state comptroller warned that it is heavily dependent entirely on an outside company that has been contracted to repair computer systems related to foreign trade. The comptroller suggests that relying solely on a company whose own level of cyber security protection is unknown could lead to compromised information.
The report also notes that Israel’s transportation infrastructure and water suppliers are particularly vulnerable to potential cyber attacks.
In 2020, iranian hackers Allegedly targeted Israel’s Water Authority and attempted to raise the amount of chlorine in the water supply to dangerously high levels. water authority last year hired a cyber security company To protect your machinery from potential cyber threats and ransomware attacks.
Still, Tuesday’s report pointed out that the water authority was not requiring water suppliers across the country to operate a system of protection against cyberattacks.
