The Shin Bet and police have arrested Omri Goren, a cleaner who worked in the home of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, on suspicion of attempting to spy for Iran. An indictment has been filed against Goren.
Goren located, using the Telegram app, the address of a representative of the Black Shadow group, contacted him under a false identity and introduced himself as someone who works for the Israeli Defense Minister, noting that he could help the group in various ways. He added that for a sum of money he would be able to transfer information from the minister's home and even suggested that he be given a "computer worm", which he would plant in the minister's computer.
In order to prove his abilities, Goren photographed a number of items in the minister's home and sent them to the group's representative on Telegram. Among the items photographed are a desk, computers, telephone, tablet, a box with a label with IDF affiliation details and serial numbers, a box with a sticker with an IP address, a closed safe and a grinding machine, military souvenirs given to the minister in his previous position as chief of staff, framed photos of the minister and his family, a bill for the Minister's property tax and more.
During the investigation, it became clear that the suspect had a long criminal record, including five convictions and 14 police cases between 2002-2013, including two bank robberies, burglary, theft and more. He was sentenced to prison four times, the last of which was for four years for robbery.
Former Mossad chief Maj. Gen. Danny Yatom called the employment of Goren at the Defense Minister's home a "very serious failure."
"The relevant authorities must investigate this immediately. This is a very serious malfunction, more than people tend to think," Yatom aid in an interview with Kan Bet.
Adi Carmi, a former senior Shin Bet official, commented on the affair on Galai Tzahal: "He started working there before Gantz was appointed defense minister - there is a security failure here. Lessons will be learned and conclusions will be drawn. It is important to say that from the moment he contacted the officials on the other side, he was located and thwarted."