State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman:
On national preparedness regarding AI: "Israel lacks a long-term national strategy on artificial intelligence. In this situation, it is no surprise that we have declined in international rankings. There is no justification for changes of government to stop a plan that is unrelated to political arguments and whose purpose is to push Israel forward in one of the global revolutions that will further intensify in the coming years."
On cyber defense at the National Insurance Institute: "Especially in wartime, cyber breaches are a failure. We must not wait for our enemies to get their hands on the National Insurance Institute's databases – we must prevent the breaches well in advance."
On the "ask once" policy: "Israel's citizens face needless hurdles because of a lack of cooperation between government ministries. The Ministry of Defense, especially in wartime, when there are hundreds of newly bereaved families and thousands of people have become disabled, must improve its service for these populations by connecting to the governmental information-sharing system while implementing the "ask once" policy, and not needlessly making these populations obtain approvals and confirmations from various ministries.
On cyber risks at Rafael: "The military industries, like all public bodies, do not have the privilege of not taking the most stringent cyber defense measures. This is of critical importance due to their role in wartime."
Table of contents
1. National artificial intelligence preparedness
2. Data security and cyber defense at the National Insurance Institute
3. The "ask once" policy – follow-up audit
4. Cyber defense: regulatory aspects and the protection of data and computer systems at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
5. Information systems at Israel Post and the Postal Bank
6. Government ICT risk management
7. The Tevel Project for upgrading the National Insurance Institute's computer system – follow-up audit
National artificial intelligence preparedness
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that in order to maintain Israel's technological and scientific superiority in the field of artificial intelligence, which has been defined as a national priority, the Ministry of Innovation must lead the government's policy in this area and act in accordance with the government's decision and the then minister's agreement with the National Security Council. In this framework, it must complete the creation of the national strategic plan that it started to prepare in 2022. At this time, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology needs to fulfill its responsibility, thus implementing the government's decision as written. Clear leadership of a significant national plan is necessary for maintaining its technological capabilities and its comparative advantage vis-à-vis the rest of the world's countries. Any deviation from this path of implementing the decision would require updating the government in order to examine the state of affairs and for the purpose of ensuring the government fulfills the objective of advancing the field of artificial intelligence.
It is proposed that the prime minister, via the National Security Council, monitor the progress of the government's handling of this issue and ensure that a significant national plan is implemented in practice.
Data security and cyber defense at the National Insurance Institute
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the acting director general and management of the National Insurance Institute and the cyber steering committee, in cooperation with the National Cyber Directorate as a professional guide, must act as soon as possible to map substantial cyber risks that the organization is facing and create a work plan to handle information security gaps, including the gaps noted in this report.
The "ask once" policy – follow-up audit
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the minister of economy, who is in charge of the National Digital Agency, must monitor the implementation of the government's decisions on the "ask once" policy and from time to time present the status of the policy's implementation to the government. The inter-ministry committee headed by the Ministry of Justice must complete its discussions and present the government with a plan for removing barriers and advancing efficient and fast information transfer processes between government ministries and public bodies, in order to implement the government's decisions on improving service for the public and reducing bureaucracy.
Cyber defense: regulatory aspects and the protection of information and computer systems at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the management and board of directors of Rafael must act to rectify the deficiencies and ensure, in cooperation with the Director of Security of the Defense Establishment (DSDE) that Rafael is implementing the DSDE's directives as required.
Information systems at Israel Post and the Postal Bank
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that, as part of improving information security, especially given the cyber incident that occurred there in April 2023, the company must act to improve its authorization management control. The company must examine the deficiencies raised in the audit on this issue and find ways to immediately rectify them.
Government ICT risk management
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the National Digital Agency must address this report's findings, and the governmental heat map of ICT risk areas presented in it, in order to focus governmental activity in this area and ensure methodological and optimal risk management in this challenging and dynamic field, and to prepare for challenges in advance and address the changes occurring in the governmental activity environment.
The Tevel Project for upgrading the National Insurance Institute's computer system – follow-up audit
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the substantial nonconformities in the project require that the management of the National Insurance Institute demonstrate considerable involvement in monitoring the factors that brought about these nonconformities, institute mechanisms to reduce them, and determine the project's completion date and budget in a final and binding manner.
The complete report