Shin Bet should take over election security due to PM probes: ex-Labor MK
Erel Margalit said that Israel's security agency could be more trusted to remain impartial than the newer cyber authorities.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBUpdated: JANUARY 29, 2019 13:17Dr. Erel Margalit, Founder and Chairman of JVP(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) should take over election security due to the public corruption cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ex-Labor MK Erel Margalit said Tuesday.Speaking from the Cybertech conference in Tel Aviv, Margalit argued that Netanyahu might have undue influence over the current cyber authorities protecting the elections and that this could undermine their integrity, since law enforcement appears to be moving toward indicting him.He said that the Shin Bet could be more trusted to remain impartial than the newer cyber authorities, which still have not been formally regulated by a specific law and are run solely through the Prime Minister's Office.It was unclear exactly how Margalit's argument works, since the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) has said that it does not directly supervise elections and the Central Elections Committee has its own independent oversight. This is because the INCD is a government authority and there is a desire to keep elections separate from any such regular government authority.At the same time, there have been indications that the INCD is substantially involved in managing aspects of elections cyber security, even if indirectly.
