Security blunders at Israeli army bases

JERUSALEM, July 29 (UPI) -- An Israeli army data security unit uncovered a series of blunders at military bases near Gaza and accessed highly classified material, the army said.

A senior army official said the security lapses were discovered at a number of bases surrounding the Gaza Strip, but the majority were found at the Kerem Shalom base near where Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in 2006, Maariv said Wednesday.

Members of the unit arrived at the bases and presented themselves as students from Jerusalem who had been called up for reserve duty, the paper said.

Soldiers guarding the entrances to the bases allowed them to pass through without demanding any identification, the paper said. Once inside the bases members of the unit walked freely and undisturbed.

In one instance, they chatted with a female soldier who agreed to tap in her password at one of the computers, giving the unit access to highly classified information.

A number of soldiers and officers found to be negligent in their duties have since been charged, and in some instances a military court sent the offenders to prison, the paper said.

The army spokesman's office said the "surprise visits" were initiated by the army to examine if all the necessary security precautions were being upheld at military bases.