The IDF’s Information Security Branch has identified an increase in attempts by
foreign hostile intelligence entities to listen in on army communications and
gain access to military computers.
The increased threat includes a major
attempt to eavesdrop on cellphones used by the IDF, as well as hacking attacks
directed at army computer networks.
Sources from the Information Security
Branch did not name who specifically was behind the efforts, but said they
expected the stepped-up threat to continue into 2013.
As such, in the
past four years the IDF has doubled the number of lie-detector tests carried out
on soldiers to ensure they do not violate information security regulations. The
number of lie-detector tests rose by 25 percent in 2012 compared to
2011.
Although most violations in the information security field are
accidental and are on the decrease, a large number of the violations continue, a
source from the branch recently told the Bamahane army magazine.
In
addition, the branch has worked with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) to
draw up new training courses for officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers
on how to secure information.
The branch has also introduced a new system
in recent months designed to send out a warning when sensitive information could
leak out to the Internet. The program carries out large scans of various sectors
of the Internet, including the social networks Twitter and Facebook, as well as
news websites.
In case of sensitive leaks, the Information Security
Branch will receive an alert in real time.
Last week, The New York Times
cited US security officials as saying that Iran was behind a string of online
attacks against American banks. The officials said the denial-of-service attacks
on the banks were sophisticated and beyond the scope of amateurs.
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