Lebanon's press was abuzz Friday with fears that an Israeli company may have acquired the fingerprints of some 4 million Lebanese citizens through links with a French firm.
A front-page article in the As-Safir newspaper bearing the headline “Fingerprint records: contract annulment or new government crisis?”
According to As-Safir, fingerprint records of more than four million Lebanese had fallen into the hands of a private French company, which is also partnered with Israeli companies that have contracts with the IDF.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told As-Safir he had no knowledge of the partnership between the French and Israeli firms.
Charbel nevertheless vowed to look into the issue and “take the necessary measures to verify the authenticity of the report.”
“If the report turned out to be true, I would immediately raise the issue in Cabinet so it can take the appropriate action on this sensitive issue out of concern for the national interest,” Charbel said.
He confirmed that the Interior Ministry had details of fingerprint records of some four million Lebanese, adding that the data was being kept at the Central Bank.
As-Safir said that Charbel’s assertion did not rule out the possibility that the fingerprint data may have "fallen into Israeli hands" some time ago.
It quoted ministerial sources as saying that Hizbullah ministers would bring the issue up during Cabinet’s next meeting.
As-Safir is known for its stridently pro-Hizbullah and tabloidesque editorial slant.
The report comes amid an burgeoning Israeli-Arab hacker war in which bank records, email accounts, social media logins, and personal information has been targeted. Banking and corporate websites, as well as stock exchanges have also been attacked.