Halutz wants to curb laptop theft
צילום: שי רוזנצוויג, גבי מנשה
Army chief declares war on laptops
In a bid to counter laptops theft, Halutz announces Tuesday officers will only be able to purchase new laptops with special permit. Meanwhile, officers will not be allowed to carry laptops outside army bases
Responding to two serious incidents in which laptops were stolen from senior officers, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz ordered no new laptops be purchased by the army, unless a special permit is secured.
Halutz has also instructed all IDF officers to refrain from carrying their laptops outside army bases, and announced that all thefts will be thoroughly investigated.
The strict new instructions were relayed to the officers Tuesday in a letter. Halutz wrote that following two incidents where laptops which contained classified information were stolen, the army intends to toughen its attitude to similar thefts in the future.
Until now, the Military Police have been involved only in cases that included theft of computers classified as containing “Top Secret” data, but following the army chief's new instructions, from now on each laptop theft will be investigated.
Halutz has also ordered that no new laptops be purchased without a special authorization from the deputy chief of staff.
‘New instruction too harsh
IDF officers complained about Halutz’s new regulations, saying they may impede their work.
“It is understandable that the army chief is trying to prevent laptop thefts, but today the world cannot function without laptops. All the data is inside, and any officer who attends meetings outside his base uses his laptop,” said one officer.
“These instructions could have a great impact on work performance, and it should be considered whether they are not too harsh,” he added.
