The Hebrew channel "I24NEWS" revealed a "serious security breach" at a sensitive Israeli intelligence unit base, where an investigator was able to enter the security facility and spend an hour among classified documents. The channel reported that a journalist working there accessed the sensitive intelligence unit's facility during lunchtime without hindrance and was not asked to identify himself.
On Wednesday evening, the military correspondent for the Israeli channel, Yanon Shalom Yatch, discussed the serious security breach in the heart of a civilian building that houses a security facility where a sensitive Israeli intelligence unit operates. The channel indicated that through an examination conducted with the help of an investigator dressed in civilian clothes and carrying a hidden camera, it became clear that there was no security guard at the facility, nor was there an armed security inspector, allowing for movement within part of the base without disturbance.
The journalist listened to conversations among soldiers and senior officials and roamed the corridors of the secret offices without ever being asked for identification. He accessed various floors of the facility without undergoing security checks and without encountering any qualified military official who might have been presumed to authorize his entry.
According to the channel, entering the sensitive complex, which exposes materials of the highest classification level, requires access through one door, typically entered by several people at once. The channel explained that there are "sanitized" complexes that do not even require a special card for access, such as terraces and corridors, and the operations room of the base (where the door opens almost automatically for everyone). Some floors contain classified information and are staffed by senior officials under disclosure procedures.
The unit failed to conduct a security audit in January, which resulted in the theft of classified computers. According to "I24NEWS," the Israeli army's information security department conducted an internal inspection of the secret facility in January, where an attempt to steal computers occurred, and the unit failed the inspection. Former soldiers in the unit have raised the issue several times with senior officers, but to no avail.
Before the publication, the Israeli army was warned about the possibility of the security breach, and the news was published with military censorship approval. Following this publication, the head of military intelligence ordered an investigation. The Hebrew channel quoted a spokesperson for the Israeli army as saying, "This is a civilian building integrated with military units in separate complexes, with multiple identification and protection mechanisms alongside clear security procedures requiring all building employees to enter with an organized permit and personal identification."
The mentioned inspection was internal, revealing shortcomings, leading to a comprehensive investigation, which was referred to the commanders for lessons learned, and involved trials and punishments for the relevant parties. Concerning the documentation presented in the report, the head of military intelligence, Colonel Aharon Haliva, appointed intelligence officer Major Avi Kinan to investigate the incident.
