Worker at Israel’s nuclear energy authority charged with hacking computer system

An employee of Israel’s secretive Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) was indicted Tuesday at the Rehovot Magistrate’s Court on charges of breaking into a computer system and invasion of privacy, following an investigation by the Defense Ministry.

According to the charge sheet filed by the cyber department at the State Attorney’s Office as part of a plea bargain, from August 2018 until January 2020 the accused broke into computer systems she was not licensed to use 70-100 times and “illegally conducted targeted searches in violation of the Protection of Privacy Law.”

The incident was initially discovered by security officers at the Atomic Energy Commission and the Defense Ministry then launched a criminal investigation.

The court accepted the state’s request to issue a gag order on details of the case, which will be heard behind closed doors due to considerations of national security.

The IAEC operates under the Prime Minister’s Office and its director general reports directly to the prime minister. It operates two research centers: the Soreq Nuclear Research Center and the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona.

Director of Security of the Defense Establishment, the agency that carried out the probe, is considered one of the most secretive branches of the ministry. In addition to providing security for defense establishment institutions, it is also reported to be involved in obtaining technological intelligence and has been referred to as Israel’s fourth intelligence service, after Mossad, the Shin Bet domestic security service, and Military Intelligence.