In the video: The State Comptroller publishes the cyber report: "Real loopholes have arisen in the border control at Ben Gurion Airport"
Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: ShutterStock)
Is the gate to Israel breached? A report published today (Wednesday) by State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman, which consists of seven different chapters, revealed real loopholes in the entry of foreigners into Israel through Ben Gurion Airport, due to technological flaws and delays in the passage to biometric passports of the Population and Immigration Authority. An audit by the Comptroller's Office found that this was a risk that had materialized, and the report cited several examples of cases in which various parties entered or left the country taking advantage of the weakness in border control and the use of forged passports.
"Population Authority documents, as well as tours, observations and experience at border control conducted by representatives of the State Comptroller's Office, revealed gaps in the Population Authority's conduct in implementing a procedure it established in order to block a loophole that could allow foreign and Israeli criminal and terrorist elements to enter and leave the country," the report states. In fact, since the issuance of smart ID cards began in June 7, 2013,3 residents reported losing or stealing a smart ID three or more times, and 834% of them have a police or criminal record. Among those who submitted such a request eight or more times, this rate was 70%.
In order to deal with the phenomenon, the State Comptroller noted that the Population Authority, in cooperation with the Shin Bet, must act without delay to correct the situation: "It is recommended that the Authority formulate an updated border control procedure at Ben Gurion Airport with regard to foreigners passing through it, anchor the procedure to be determined in its procedures, and ensure that all parties act accordingly. It is also recommended that the Population Authority audit the activity of the Border Control Administration to ensure that it operates in accordance with the rules it has set."
Some numbers:
- 30% of Israelis who pass through the automatic kiosks at Ben Gurion Airport, which are designated for passage using biometric passports, pass through them using an old passport.
- Of the 70,3 residents who reported losing or stealing a smart ID three or more times, 834% have criminal or police records.
- 37% of passport holders (about 2.9 million residents) still hold old, easily forged passports as of July 2022.
- Six weeks is the period of time during which the Population Authority undertook to send the resident the passport and was extended from three weeks to six weeks.
- 3.6 million residents have an identity card that is expected to expire between 2024 and 2023, and they are expected to go to the Population Authority offices to issue a new one.
- Less than 1% of residents who entered the national identification system used their smart ID cards to receive government digital services remotely.
- 400 attempts to enter Israel using forged identification documents occurred at crossings entrusted to the Land Crossings Authority in the first half of 2022.
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Passport control at Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: ShutterStock)
The main loophole is in the outdated IDs. In 2013, Israel began a transition to smart ID cards and biometric passports, which are expected to replace the old type of identification documents, which are considered easy to forge. However, a significant delay in the transition to national biometric documentation and the lack of use of smart ID cards due to legal and technological barriers have led to difficulties in coping with the increase in demand for issuing biometric identification documents, which has led to heavy congestion at the Population Authority and difficulties in scheduling appointments.
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The real loads are yet to come
Matanyahu Engelman notes that in the next two years (2024-2023), the ID cards of 3.6 million residents are expected to expire (old type of ID cards and biometric IDs that are expected to expire). Holders of these cards are expected to go to the Population Authority offices in order to issue new identification documents. This is in addition to the regular inquiries to the bureaus – an average monthly addition of about 150,000 inquiries to the 200,000 inquiries that were on average per month in 2019 (an average monthly increase of about 75%).
An average monthly addition of about 150,000 applications for issuing a passport to about 200,000 (Photo: ShutterStock)
In addition, the harsh report shows that in view of the increase in demand for passports in the post-COVID-19 period, the period of time in which the Population Authority undertook to send the passport was extended from three weeks to six weeks. It was also found that the Population Authority's passport factory is equipped with outdated printers for issuing biometric passports, and the production that depends on them does not meet the demand for biometric passports during periods when there is an increase in demand. In addition, the Authority does not have printers at the backup site for printing biometric passports in the event of a shutdown of the issuing plant. This means that there will be no ability to issue biometric passports if the issuing plant is shut down.
- technology
- Privacy & Security
Tags
- Comptroller's Report
- State Comptroller
- State Comptroller's Report
- Matanya Engelman
- Passports
- Cyber
