State comptroller says ‘in-depth’ investigation under way into police spying claims

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Thursday confirmed he is carrying out an “in-depth” investigation into bombshell claims that Israel Police spied on Israeli citizens.

“Maintaining privacy is a cornerstone of a democratic state,” Englman said during a conference in Jerusalem. “We will carry out an in-depth examination of all the conduct of law enforcement agencies through technological means.”

Englman announced last month that he would probe claims that police used the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to hack into the phones of private citizens who were not suspected of crimes without any warrant or judicial oversight.

Current and former senior police officers have denied the claims, made in unsourced reports in the Calcalist daily, and initial investigations by the police and the deputy attorney general have reportedly found no such abuse. The police have acknowledged hacking the phone of Shlomo Filber, a state’s witness in the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, and say they have targeted the phones of criminal suspects with judicial authorization.

Englman said his probe will involve a series of internal and external experts as well as individuals who previously served in intelligence positions.

“Our investigation will examine a number of aspects, including the use of technological means by law enforcement agencies — whether there was a deviation from authority and whether legislation and regulation in Israel are prepared to deal with technological progress. And — what are the procedures for using these means on citizens’ phones. We will also check the information security of data collected by the police — whether [the data are] protected against possible leaks,” he said.

Englman said he respected the current investigation being overseen by Deputy Attorney General Amit Marari, but said “it is important that there be an audit by the State Comptroller, which is an independent body.”

Marari’s ongoing investigation, aided by former officials from the Shin Bet and Mossad and with input from the NSO Group, is looking into whether police made illicit use of spy software to break into the phones of 26 people named earlier this month by the Calcalist newspaper.

This investigation has found that most of those named in the newspaper report were not targeted, a Wednesday report said.

Channel 12 news said Marari’s probe has established that NSO’s Pegasus spyware was not used, among others, against three former directors of government ministries: Shai Babad, Keren Terner Eyal and Emi Palmor. The allegation that police used spyware to target the three former senior civil servants — none of whom is suspected of any criminal activity — was among the most incendiary elements of the Calcalist report.

The prime minister’s son, Avner Netanyahu, also named in the Calcalist report, was also not spied on, the Marari probe has reportedly established.

According to Channel 12, some individuals named by Calcalist were subjected to police phone hacking via spyware, but they were suspected of criminal activity and the spyware was used with judicial approval.

The Marari team is expected to soon present its findings to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Public Security Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

NSO’s Pegasus is considered one of the most powerful cyber-surveillance tools available on the market, giving operators the ability to effectively take full control of a target’s phone, download all data from the device, or activate its camera or microphone without the user knowing.

The company has been involved in numerous scandals in recent years and has faced a torrent of international criticism over allegations it allows governments, including dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, to spy on dissidents and rights activists. It was blacklisted by the US last year along with several other firms.

On Tuesday, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), an independent EU watchdog on privacy concerns, called for a ban on Pegasus spyware within the European Union.

“A ban on the development and deployment of spyware with the capability of Pegasus in the EU would be the most effective option,” the EDPS wrote in a new report. The organization says that the spyware, which infiltrates smartphones and can access all data available on the phone, is “incompatible with our democratic values.”

Spyware like Pegasus “has the potential to cause unprecedented risks and damages not only to the fundamental freedoms but also to democracy and the rule of law,” EDPS said.

NSO has insisted that its software is intended for use only in fighting terrorism and other crimes, that it bars sales to those it believes will abuse it and halts contracts if it discovers abuse. Its CEO said in a recent interview that NSO’s presence on the US blacklist was “an outrage.”