Monday, January 16, 2017

2017-01-16 Computer election fraud in 2015? Shin-Bet Head Argaman is asked for clarfications...


Computer fraud in the 2015 election in Israel? Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman is asked to clarify
False and misleading FOIA response by the Central Election Committee states that the Shin-Bet examined and certified “Democracy” - the Committee's IT system. Successive State Ombudsman’s reports documented critical security failures in “Democracy”… Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman is asked to confirm or refute the Committee’s claims regarding Shin-Bet certification of “Democracy”…
Figure: Saturday, September 24, 2016, screen prints from the Central Election Committee’s web site, as published by activists, who routinely monitor the site. The election returns shown here are from a single polling station. The results of the 2013 general election (right) were adulterated, and are patently false, showing an exact copy of the 2015 general election returns (left), including parties that did not even exist in 2013. The Committee’s FOIA response failed to answer: Under whose authority information is published on the Committee’s web site?
(image by Public)

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Image result for ‫נדב ארגמן‬‎

Figure: Netanyahu, departing Shin-Bet Head Yoram Cohen and incoming Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman in May 2016.

Image result for ‫ועדת הבחירות המרכזית כנסת 20‬‎
The 2015 general election results, as published by the Central Election Committee. The alleged computer election fraud in 2015 added 4 or more mandates (out of 120) to Netanyahu’s Likud party (Blue – 30 mandate). The Zionist Alliance came in second (brown – 24 mandates) and the Arab United Front came in third (grey – 13 mandates). Netanyahu’s election win defied all up to the last minute pollsters’ predictions. Initial report alleging computer fraud was published by the Daily Kos a few days after the election.

Attorney Orly Adas, CEO of the Central Election Committee, in a promotional photo towards the 2015 election in front of a room-full of computers. According to Attorney Adas and Attorney Elad Naveh (FOIA Officer of the Committee), the Committee’s “Democracy” IT system was examined and certified by the Shin-Bet. In contrast, the State Ombudsman report on the 2015 election documents critical security failures in “Democracy”, and further notes that the same critical failures had already been documented in his 2013 report, but had not been fixed...

פרופ' אלי ביהם (מימין) עם ד
July 2016 ceremony, launching of the Technion’s new, publicly-funded Cyber Security Research Center. From left: Prof Peretz Lavie – Technion President, Eviatar Matania, PhD – Head of the National Cyber Bureau in the Prime Minister office, and Prof Eli Biham – Head of the new Center. Prof Biham refuses to comment on claims of computer fraud in the 2015 general election. 
 
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OccupyTLV, January 16 – inquiry has been filed today with Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman, asking him to confirm or refute that “Democracy” - IT system of the Central Election Committee - was examined and certified by the Shin-Bet’s Information Security Authority (Re’em).
The inquiry states that the Central Election Committee claims that the system was examined and certified by the Shin-Bet. In contrast, the State Ombudsman’s report on the 2015 general election documented critical security failure in “Democracy” - failure to implement in the system a valid entry log. Moreover, the same State Ombudsman report documented that already his report on the 2013 general election had pointed out the same critical security failures. Regardless, up to the 2015 general election, such failures had not been corrected…
Today’s inquiry with the Shin-Bet Head Argaman states that combined, the information, which was provided by the Central Election Committee and the State Ombudsman’s reports raise serious concerns regarding competence and integrity of the Shin-Bet and Re’em. Moreover, such information raises serious concerns regarding the nature of the regime of the State of Israel today...
This is not the first inquiry of this kind with the Shin-Bet. In 2014 inquiry was sent to then Shin-Bet Head Yoram Cohen, informing him of a March 2002 hack (inside job) of IT systems of the Supreme Court, which was followed by massive falsification of Supreme Court electronic records. The 2014 Shin-Bet response was that the Shin-Bet was not charged with security of the Supreme Court’s IT systems. At the same time, the Administration of Courts refused to answer on a FOIA request, which sought to identify the agency that was charged with security of IT systems of the courts…
System analysis and data mining documented massive security failures in IT systems of the Israeli Supreme Court. Based on such studies, which were filed with the UN Human Rights Council, the 2013 Universal Periodic Review-Professional Staff Report states: “Lack of integrity in electronic record systems of the Supreme Court… in Israel.”
Obviously, security failure in IT systems of the courts in general, and of the Supreme Court in particular, also bears serious implications relative to the nature of the Israeli regime…
In a meeting with a senior expert, a person of authority relative to Israeli e-government systems, there was full agreement that one of the key e-government failures is in the definition of “critical systems”, security of which is assigned to the Shin-Bet/Re’em. The same person also opined that the Shin-Bet’s involvement in e-government was a central cause of e-government integrity failure…
E-government security in Israel has been further mired over the past year with the establishment by Netanyahu of a National Cyber Bureau in the Prime Minister’s office, headed by Eviatar Matania, PhD, and a National Cyber Authority, both without adequate legal foundation. With it, Netanyahu gained full control of all critical national information systems.
Over the past year, two publicly funded Cyber Security Research Centers were also launched in leading Israeli academic institutions – the Technion and the Hebrew University. Prof Eli Biham, a world-renowned cryptology expert and Head of the Technion’s new Cyber Security Research Center, refuses to comment on evidence of fraud in IT systems of the Central Election Committee.
The claims of computer fraud in the 2015 general election undermines the foundation of lawful authority of the current Knesset and the current cabinet. The documented fraud in IT systems of the courts should also be deemed undermining the lawful foundation of the regime. Fraud has been repeatedly documented also in IT systems of the Ministry of Justice. And the Knesset refuses to lawfully answer on FOIA requests, pertaining to IT systems of the Knesset itself…
Combined, the fraud in e-government in Israel represents transformation of the regime into the Post-Truth Era… Conditions in the US are not much different…

Following is today’s inquiry with Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman
January 16, 2017


Nadav Argaman, Head of Shin-Bet
Prime Minister's Office
Ben Gurion City, Building C
Jerusalem 91950
By fax: 02-5605000, and by certified mail


RE: Allegation of computer fraud in the 2015 general election – Shin-Bet standing relative to the Central Election Committee’s IT systems
Your response within 45 days is kindly requested, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Reform Act (1958).


Dear Mr Argaman:
Publications, which started abroad a few days after the 2015 general election for the 20th Knesset, and which were later followed by publications in Israel, raised suspicions of material computer fraud in the 2015 general election. Therefore, I filed a FOIA request with the Central Election Committee [CEC], in an attempt to document development, validation, implementation, operation and security in compliance with binding standards. [1]
The names of three attorneys appear on the perverted CEC’s FOIA response: 1. Elad Naveh - FOIA Officer; 2. Orly Adas - Central Election Committee CEO, 3. Dean Livneh - Central Election Committee Legal Advisor. [2]
Reply on the CEC’s FOIA response notes that the information, which was provided in the response, was partly invalid, party misleading, and failed to provide the key records which had been requests, including but not limited to: [3]
  • According to the CEC’s response, validity and integrity of the CEC’s IT systems mostly depended on one person - Mr Lazar Dudovitch, whose lawful appointment record the CEC failed to provide. The CEC also failed to provide the requested certification records, pertaining to validation of the systems by the same person.
  • The CEC's response tries to represent the publication of the election returns in the CEC's web site as an automatic, no human touch, one time only, unchangeable process. The CEC also failed to provide the requested documentation regarding the person, under whose authority such information is published in the CEC web site. However, adulterations of the data on the CEC’s web site have been repeatedly documented in recent months...
  • The CEC claims in its response, “the systems were examined and certified by the authority [Shin Bet-Reem – jz]”, but the CEC failed to provide any of the requested documentation of such certification. In contrast, the State Ombudsman's report following the 2015 general election indicates critical failures in system security (no valid entry log), which had not been corrected following his report on the 2013 general election.
The alleged computer fraud in the 2015 general election undermines the foundation of any lawful authority of the 20th Knesset and the current government. If indeed the Shin-Bet is involved, as claimed by the CEC, the matter has serious implications relative to competence and integrity of the Shin-Bet, and the nature of the regime in Israel.
Therefore, I herein request that you confirm or refute the Central Election Committee’s claims regarding examination and certification by the Shin-Bet-Reem of the Central Election Committee’s IT systems.
Truly,
Joseph Zernik, PhD
Human Rights Alert (NGO)
OccupyTLV
CC:
Activists, Others
Attachments/Links:
[1] 2016-12-14 Central Election Committee FOIA (1/1214/16) : IT systems
[2] 2017-01-12 FOIA Response (1/1214/16) by the Central Election Committee, in re IT systems
[3] 2017-01-12 Reply on FOIA Response (1/1214/16) by the Central Election Committee, in re:  IT systems