State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman's report, published Tuesday, strongly criticizes the authorities' conduct in implementing the policy of biometric passports, which are considered less hackable and more secure.
The comptroller's report stated, among other things, that "the situation that emerges from this report is that after about a decade since the transition to biometric identification documents began, and the considerable public resources invested in the transition began, as of 2022, a significant percentage of the country's residents still hold the old type of identification documents (45% of the residents have old ID cards and 37% of them have passports of this type), and there has been a delay in completing the transition to biometric identification documents. Moreover, due to legal and technological barriers, the use of smart ID cards is very limited, and the cards do not fulfill their purpose."
"The use of smart ID cards is very limited." State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In addition, the comptroller found that there are loopholes in entry into Israel, according to the report. Such loopholes are considered significant at the gateway to the country. According to the report, "Regarding the entry and exit process of Israelis and foreigners at Ben Gurion Airport, loopholes in the border control process at Ben Gurion Airport have been revealed. These breaches constitute a significant risk from the criminal, security and illegal aspects of immigration to Israel. The Population Authority noted regarding loopholes in the passage of foreigners and Israelis at Ben Gurion Airport that there was indeed no strict adherence at Ben Gurion Airport to work according to the procedures, and it was decided to take a number of steps to deal with the issue.
"In addition, there are gaps in the protection of biometric data: the law establishes arrangements for safeguarding the existing biometric information in the national biometric database and supervision arrangements for it, but in practice, alongside this database there are additional biometric databases that include biometric information of state residents on a large scale, while there is a gap regarding their protection from cyber aspects."
Loopholes in the border control process. Passengers at Ben Gurion Airport. Illustration,
In the report, the comptroller also addressed the difficulties in obtaining appointments for issuing a passport, while presenting the plan for solving the problem that was recently presented and first published in Israel Hayom: "In the post-COVID-2024 period, the demand for issuing biometric identification documents increased. This has caused congestion in the Population Authority, including difficulty in scheduling appointments and extending the time required for issuing passports. In addition, in the next two years (2023-<>), the identity cards of millions of residents are expected to expire, requiring advance preparation. The response formulated by the Authority to the load of inquiries expected in its offices in the coming years will provide only a partial response.
"In light of the severity of the audit's findings, it is recommended that the Population Authority act to correct the deficiencies raised in the report, and that the Minister of the Interior ensure that actions are taken to correct the deficiencies in the aforementioned areas, including ensuring that deficiencies in the field of security and information protection are corrected in coordination with the professional bodies responsible for this: the Shin Bet, the police and the National Cyber Directorate," the report states.
Requires prior preparation. Citizens in line to obtain a passport, photo: Joshua Yosef
The summary states, "In recent years, far-reaching changes have taken place in aspects affecting the national biometric project. This includes a marked improvement in technological capabilities in the field of biometrics; And the volume of use of online services that require secure identification has increased greatly. Completing the transition to biometric identification documents, while removing the legal and technological barriers that make their use difficult and adapting the project to the changes that have occurred in recent years, is likely to leverage the use of biometric identification documents, and is expected to bring significant benefits in terms of security, economy and public service."
The Enforcement and Collection Authority's response to the comptroller's report on cyber: "First of all, it should be clarified that most of the issues presented in the comptroller's report were brought before him by the Enforcement and Collection Authority, these were reported as being at various stages of handling processes, and accordingly, an orderly and comprehensive professional plan for correcting them was formulated and presented to him.
"In more detail, we note that the Enforcement and Collection Authority is in an advanced process to implement a screen documentation system. This system will enable effective control over the activity of users in the Center's systems for collecting fines and will record entries to them. Completion of the implementation of the system will be done this year. It is important to conclude that the audit was conducted in depth and its results were good. As a result, it was found that the systems are at a high level of protection. However, the Enforcement and Collection Authority continues to study additional findings that emerged in the report and to constantly improve its systems."
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