Intel: Voter data leak threatens to draw Netanyahu into new investigation

Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority announced the launch of an investigation into a massive data leak by a website for a mobile phone app used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, just weeks before the country heads to the polls for the third general election in less than one year.

The Likud uploaded the entire Israeli national voter registry — including personal data such as full names, phone numbers, addresses and national ID numbers — to the website of an app called “Elector.” The app is designed to communicate information to voters ahead of the March 2 elections.

While all political parties in Israel have access to the Israeli voter registry ahead of elections, they are required by law to protect voters’ privacy and cannot copy, erase or transfer the registry. While the Likud gave Elector access to the registry, it is not yet clear if any of these privacy regulations were violated.

Why it matters: In January 2019, current Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman warned that an unnamed foreign cyber power — the immediate suspect being Russia — was working hard to hack aspects of Israeli elections.