Two Israeli combat pilots were jailed for five days and 12
others were disciplined for storing maps and other classified information on
their smartphones, Army Radio reported this week.
The incident underscores the security risks posed by mobile
technology and demonstrates that the culture of the air force must be
overhauled, Israel Air Force officials said.
"The ease of photographing and sending pictures, maps
and classified information has become the enemy of information security and
endangers operational activity," an air force officer said.
Officers said they were particularly concerned by the use of
applications like the mobile messaging service WhatsApp, since it transfers
information online and is therefore considered relatively easy to breach.
"It has to be understood that it's possible and
necessary to secure information differently," IAF chief Amir Eshel said in
a meeting with high-ranking air force commanders Wednesday to issue directives
on improving security.
Eshel said the culture of the air force must be changed,
adding that if the security breach took place in one squadron it is probably
taking place in others as well.
Israeli military authorities discovered the security breach
after one of the pilots reported he had lost his cell phone and that it
contained sensitive data. It was recovered, the report said, and investigators
found he had loaded maps, waypoints and other classified documents.
Other members of his squadron had done the same, so they
could have the information readily at hand, the radio said.
The 14 pilots were court-martialed. Two were sent to jail,
11 received suspended sentences and one was fined.
"The air force is treating the incident very
seriously," the IDF Spokesperson's Office said in a statement.
Squadron commanders met this week with their squadrons to
order them to adhere to the existing security procedures.
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