Shai Malol, a 17-year-old boy, a 12th grade student, taught himself programming, and wandered two months ago on the Home Front Command’s national emergency portal, which is operated by the army.
Through it, Malol was able to reach a separate website of the army’s defense department where the extensive infrastructure projects with high security sensitivity were found. This is what Itai Shikman reported in ‘Khan Ha’od’.
Malol located on the separate website projects that included radar systems, thermal cameras and weapon depots in various border settlements, throughout the length and breadth of the State of Israel.
The boy, who besides studying at school also works at a small start-up company, decided to consult with his managers and reported a breach to the national cyber system. They in turn forwarded the report to the IDF and the breach to the sensitive content was closed.
The IDF’s projects are always managed in closed systems, but there is a problem in managing projects with civilian bodies, when the interface is connected to the open Internet. These are systems that must be protected from end to end, with the highest standards available.
The IDF spokesman gave an excuse in response: “There was no hacking of the national emergency portal of the Home Front Command. This is another site, which is in the stages of programming and construction, and the content on it was already removed that day. Also, the procedures were refined to prevent similar cases.”