Israel monitors soldiers’ social media after Oct. 7 events

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israel’s military has decided to monitor the social media accounts of its soldiers and review everything they post, including text, images and videos, local media reported on Wednesday.

Army Radio said the move follows reports that Hamas obtained information about the army and its movements ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023 events by monitoring soldiers’ public accounts across multiple platforms.

The new measure aims to curb what the army sees as “a significant vulnerability,” the broadcaster said.

According to the outlet, the military will use a new artificial intelligence system called Morpheus to monitor soldiers’ accounts and flag anything they post – text, photos or videos – that might reveal sensitive information.

The system “learns through AI to examine posts and determine whether they expose sensitive details, such as locations of bases, weapons or any other information,” the radio said.

If necessary, the system will identify cases that should be reviewed by information security officers, according to the report.

The radio said the system is set to begin operating in early December after receiving the required legal approvals. It will cover about 170,000 soldiers with public social media accounts but will exclude private accounts and reservists for legal reasons.

A four-month pilot phase monitored the accounts of 45,000 soldiers and recorded thousands of cases that required information security intervention to delete posts deemed sensitive, the broadcaster said.

The military acknowledges the new step “goes beyond standard discipline rules and restricts soldiers’ privacy,” but considers it necessary to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 events, it added.

Israeli political, military and security officials have described the Oct. 7 events as one of the country’s worst intelligence, security and military failures.

Following the Oct. 7 events, the Israeli army launched a two-year offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others.