The Israeli National Biometric Database Authority has failed to report two information security incidents to the parliamentary committee overseeing its operations, the financial daily Calcalist reported on Sunday.
The incidents took place in 2017 and 2018, the report said. In failing to report the issue, the BDA essentially broke the law. It was compelled to reveal this information following a petition to the High Court of Justice against the biometric database.
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According to the Biometric Database Law, the BDA is required to report any information security event to the Knesset Committee on Biometric Applications.
The appeal, filed by the Israeli Digital Rights Movement, also revealed the fact that the biometrics committee has not convened once since 2017, the report said.
The biometric database has long been under criticism, as both Israeli information security experts and privacy advocacy groups argue that it fails to meet the necessary information security standards required to protect the highly sensitive information stored in its servers.
According to court documents, the BDA maintains that citizens' privacy was not compromised by either incident, and both were extensively investigated by the Israel National Cyber Directorate.
Nir Hirshman of the Israeli Digital Rights Movement told Calcalist that the BDA's disregard for the law "is one of the symptoms of a system that doesn't give a damn about its citizens," adding that the situation "brings to light troubling questions about the BDA's operations."
