I came across a rather disturbing piece of news this week; that of Hamas almost managing to breach the IDF’s (Israel Defense Forces) largest unit with a spoof cleaning crew! According to news published by JNS (https://www.jns.org/), Hamas planned to use civilian contractor access – in this case through a routine cleaning services contract, as a route into the base belonging to Israel's leading signals intelligence unit. The attempt to breach the 8200 installation unit, which is responsible for collecting some 80% of the signal intelligence, code decryption, counter-intelligence, cyberwarfare and surveillance gathered and produced for all intelligence branches, came after a cleaning services tender was posted online and was picked up by the terrorist group. Naturally the tender was put on hold immediately the potential breach was discovered and security has since been tightened, but look how easy it can be for potential terrorists to pose as cleaners – either as a full team or as an individual! 

  

The story has had me thinking about just how crucial it is for building owners and facilities managers all over the world to really know the contractors they’re allowing into their facilities – and for the contractors themselves to really know their employees and their backgrounds. It’s a huge responsibility, isn’t it? For me it’s underlined the importance of using only reputable contractors who are active members of established Trade Associations. I know it’s not a foolproof solution to potential problems, but it certainly helps…