State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman gave a speech today (Thursday February 17, 2022) at the licensing ceremony for new accountants in Jerusalem. At the beginning of his speech, he related to the audit that the Office of the State Comptroller is conducting on the conduct of the police and the Office of the State Attorney in the Pegasus affair:
"At this time we are conducting an audit of the Office of the State Attorney and the police regarding the use of technological measures and software, including NSO's Pegasus software.
Without diminishing the internal examination that is taking place at the Ministry of Justice, there is importance in auditing by the State Comptroller, which is an independent body. Protecting privacy is a cornerstone of democratic states. We do not intend to rely on one report or another but to conduct a broad, in-depth examination of all conduct by law enforcement agencies using technological measures.
The examination team is led by the Law Enforcement Division alongside the Cyber Division that I established upon entering my position. We also intend to include expert advisors in the field of technology on the team, including former members of intelligence units.
Our examination will assess several aspects, including law enforcement agencies' use of technological measures – was there a deviation from their authority, and is legislation and regulation in Israel prepared for coping with technological progress. And also – what are the procedures for the use of these measures on the telephones of citizens. In addition, we are examining the information security of data gathered by the police – is it protected from information leakage."