Could the Education Ministry's distance learning system be compromised in a way that could place the young students using it in harm's way? Some parents argue that is, indeed, the case.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, much of the Israeli educational system has transitioned to online learning. The Education Ministry has created special email addresses for every student in Israel to participate in online classes broadcast via the Zoom app, and the students also use this address to receive various messages, assignments, and more.
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Some parents have expressed concerns about whether this kind of system keeps their children's personal information secure. For example, all students' emails have automatically been added to the school district's mailing list, meaning that any person who can access the system can also access the information of all the other students in the district. An individual with access to the system can therefore see the first and last names of the students and their email addresses, and will thus be able to message them directly.
Parents fear that the system can be easily hacked by pedophiles. "Most pedophiles in Israel are parents of children," said the father of a girl whose school transitioned to this online learning system.
"The moment someone acquires a password to the system and logs in, the possibilities are endless. As parents, we can't tell our children to be careful with the emails they receive on this platform. This is an educational platform. This is their classroom. And it's not just sexual exploitation that we are worried about. Phishing, spamming, and harassment are all real concerns," he said.
Ido Naor, CEO of cybersecurity company Security Joes, told Israel Hayom, "From a security check we conducted, it appears that the Education Ministry uses Google Cloud to store files shared with all students. Any user can easily access the user list by using Google's autocomplete feature."
Responding to the claim, the Education Ministry said that "access to the system is only possible after identification through the identity feature, and those are defined as closed learning environments that exclude outside participants. As part of the ministry's policy, students can communicate with each other within the district, and their information is not exposed outside the district's educational environment."
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