Skip to main content

Ahead of elections, Israel fears foreign cyber meddling

Israeli experts warn against foreign manipulation on social networks ahead of the elections, but also against lack of regulation in the war against cyber-attacks.

People walk past a campaign poster of Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and the head of a new political party, Israel Resilience, in Jerusalem, January 29, 2019  REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC16AFABDBD0
People walk past a campaign poster of Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and the head of a new political party, Israel Resilience, in Jerusalem, Jan. 29, 2019 — REUTERS/Ammar Awad

In June 2017, the Knesset Science and Technology Committee devoted a hearing to the cyber threat against Israel’s elections. Experts assured lawmakers that ballots are not under threat because the Central Elections Committee has an independent, closed-circuit system that cannot be hacked. “We decided not to go over to computerized voting, mostly because of what happened in the US presidential election,” an Israeli source close to the elections committee told Al-Monitor. “We would rather count the votes [by hand] at a slower pace, and ascertain that there is no possible infiltration of a computerized system by external elements.”

Related Topics

Subscribe for unlimited access

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more

$14 monthly or $100 annually ($8.33/month)
OR

Continue reading this article for free

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more.

By signing up, you agree to Al-Monitor’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Already have an account? Log in