Comptroller checking if Iran hacked PMO, drones, home front command

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Tuesday said that he is reviewing if Iran and other hackers succeeded in penetrating the cyber defenses of the Prime Minister's Office, the IDF's drones, and the IDF home front command.

Speaking at the Tel Aviv University Cyber Week Conference, he said he is also reviewing 30 main public bodies to see how they handled the more intense cyber attacks on Israel during the current war.

Although he hopes the report will be released in the coming months, it could take longer due to broader disputes with the IDF about when it will provide information related to the ongoing war. 

Englman said that his report, "first deals with gaps in the level of cyber protection and in the resilience of Israel, and the actions the regulatory bodies took in order to strengthen the resilience. The second examines the preparedness of critical bodies to cyber-attacks and how those attacks were dealt."

"In addition, we are examining Protection against Cyber Threats on ICT Systems in one of our defense industries. I see great importance in these audits in light of higher risks we might be facing," said Englman.

Englman talks about his past month

Next, he said, "Last month I entered my position as the President of EUROSAI - The European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. In this organization 51 State Auditors from all around Europe are members and our office is leading a parallel audit on the topic of AI, with many participants from State Audit Institutions from Europe. As part of the audit we will examine the states' preparedness to cyber threats in the AI era."

Englman's appointment to the senior international position was a rare win for Israel globally during this period when its international reputation has taken a major hit.