It's difficult to understate the gravity of the leak of classified information from a unit in the Military Intelligence Directorate, not just because of the damage to national security but mainly due to the ease in which sensitive information can be passed from mouth to ear, from individuals with security clearance to civilians, and from them to the entire world, via social media.
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The affair was only made public after the highly classified information was posted on social media and the investigation was tasked to the Shin Bet, which managed to solve the case in short order. It emerged that media outlets had based reports on information that had been circulated on social media. The investigation also led to the arrests of three individuals: an IDF reservist from an intelligence unit, a soldier currently serving in the unit, and a civilian, a minor slated to enlist in the near future.
The three were arrested, and during their questioning revealed they had customarily gathered classified information and published it on social media sites. The information they had collected within the framework of their jobs or from other soldiers and reservists in the intelligence unit, who acted in good faith. The civilian suspects were indicted on Monday, and the soldier will likely be indicted in accordance with a hearing in a military court next week. The other soldiers who were investigated on suspicion of transferring information could face disciplinary action.
The investigation refuted suspicions that the three had acted on behalf of a foreign intelligence service or received payment for the information. As crazy as it sounds, it appears they did what they did for no particular reason at all: just for the sake of it, or just for fun. The damage they caused troubled them less, apparently, along with the fact that they knowingly perpetrated a long list of security-related offenses despite knowing full well that their actions contravened orders and protocols.
The goal: Tighten field security regulations
This affair, however, cannot be allowed to simply culminate in these indictments. Military Intelligence Directorate head Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, did the right thing in appointing an internal committee to investigate field security procedures and regulations in the directorate. This type of investigation should have been ordered over a year ago following the case of Capt. T, who was arrested on suspicion of committing grave security offenses and later died in military prison.
That affair led to the IDF's partial transparency at present, but, as stated, this isn't enough. The committee formed by Haliva must investigate the disconcerting ease that information is transmitted within and between the various units in the MID, and to external elements. These units are heavily dependent on reservists, who rejoin their units for a short period of time, are exposed to sensitive information, and then return to their civilian lives. Until now, this transition has worried the IDF mainly in terms of technological know-how making its way to companies in the private sector, but it should be just as concerned about the exploitation of intelligence information.
This is a complex challenge. The rationale among these units, chief among them Unit 8200, is to foster maximum thought and opinions through an environment of teamwork in which information is shared, with the aim of cracking boundaries and obstacles – technological, operational, and intelligence. This rationale has been copy-pasted to the Israeli high-tech sector and is one of the main factors behind the country's status as a global technological powerhouse. The MID must now continue upholding this standard of excellence while taking greater pains to ensure the safety of this information, which often comes from its partners in the Shin Bet and Mossad.
The committee will be asked to discuss, again, how soldiers with sensitive security clearances use social media. Many of these soldiers have social media profiles on various sites and the army will now have to redefine what is permitted and what isn't, to who, and under what conditions. While this is a security-intelligence issue, it also involves matters of privacy and liberties – particularly among reservists who often use social media for business purposes.
In summation, the committee and the other elements investigating this affair need to ask themselves what they don't know about what is leaked from the MID in these times of mass information and effortless social media publication. The investigation into the current affair indicates that the three suspects leaked information for an extended period of time before their arrests. The fact that they did this without getting caught constitutes a giant, flashing warning sign, and obligates the powers that be to make sure no more undetected avenues of unauthorized information exist.
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