State Comptroller Englman is initiating international cooperation for cyber protection: "A country which does not invest in cyber protection – is forsaking its citizens" and is recruiting state comptrollers worldwide to act for the climate: "This is not a future apocalyptical prediction – the crisis is here".
The State Comptroller of Israel, Matanyahu Englman, who also serves as the Vice President of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI), headed a session on how countries are confronting cyber threats, within the framework of an international conference held in Brazil and attended by 150 state comptrollers. The Comptroller chose to initiate the conference on this subject due to his view that cyber threats constitute a "main risk".
As may be recalled, when he took office 3.5 years ago, Englman formed a cyber department designed to examine how the State of Israel is dealing with cyber threats. So far Englman has published cyber audits on a variety of subjects, and next month he is expected to publish additional cyber reports. Englman illustrated the danger by using his mobile phone: "This device and everybody's device can easily turn into a weapon against you. I have the phone in Israel and an enemy and criminal party can use it against me", he said at the conference.
The Comptroller related an example of the way in which he views cyber threats. He shared that he had told the Israeli Police Commissioner: "The Israel Police is unprepared to protect citizens from cybercrime which for the most part does not come from inside the country. You are fighting yesterday's war which is irrelevant to the challengers of 2022.
A robbery will most likely take place online from one corner of the world to another, and not by breaking into a bank branch. We have experienced this in Israel just recently when the website of the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – was hacked, and the functioning of a hospital was severely affected for a period of over one month due to a ransom demand. The United States also experienced this two days ago when it seized stolen Bitcoin worth 3.36 billion dollars.
The duty is not imposed upon the Israel Police alone. It is the duty of every country in the world to its citizens. No country is immune and there is no system which is not vulnerable to severe damage. A country which does not invest in cyber protection is forsaking its citizens.
I shall initiate international cooperation between state comptrollers worldwide in the matter of cyber audit, in order to make governments fulfill their duty and protect their citizens. I am inviting each and every one of you to take part in the initiative".