'ID numbers need better anti-hacker protection'

Gov't body issues new instructions saying private internet sites should not ask for ID numbers without good reason.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
hacking hackers computer hacking [illustrative]_370 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
hacking hackers computer hacking [illustrative]_370
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Personal ID numbers should be better protected and kept offline as much as possible, to protect them from anti-Israel hackers, a government body said on Sunday.
The Justice Ministry’s Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority (ILITA) issued new instructions, according to which private Internet sites should not ask for ID numbers without good reason.
The guidelines were released as a response to a string of hacking attacks this year on Israeli corporate and government- owned websites from Arab hackers led by “OxOmar,” who is believed to be a Saudi.
ILITA became concerned that the more online databases store the ID numbers of Israelis, the more opportunities hostile online elements will have to steal the information and use to commit an array of attacks, such as identify fraud and credit card theft.
Last month, a 15-year-old Jew was arrested in the capital on suspicion of using credit cards leaked by the Saudi hacker to buy electronics on the Net. Police suspect the boy made contact with OxOmar and asked for the stolen credit card numbers, before going on a shopping spree with them.
Israeli hackers have struck sensitive financial websites in Gulf states, Iran and the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for the recent attacks.
The new guidelines are part of an effort by the government to increase cooperation with the private sector on Internet security, and to introduce a standard of safety for Israel’s Internet infrastructure.