The Hindu : International : U.K. couple in Israel's industrial espionage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 01, 2005

International

International

U.K. couple in Israel's industrial espionage

Conal Urquhart

TEL AVIV: A London-based Israeli couple has been accused of playing a crucial role in the biggest case of industrial espionage in Israel's history.

Last week 21 executives and private detectives from Israel's largest firms were arrested on suspicion of using software designed by Michael Haephrati and his wife, Ruth Brier Haephrati, to infiltrate their rivals' computer systems.

Mr. Haephrati (41), and his wife (28), appeared at Bow Street magistrates court in London on recently and were remanded in custody until June 3, after Israeli police requested their extradition. They were arrested and bailed by the hi-tech crimes unit of the U.K.'s National Crime Squad.

A spokeswoman for the unit said: ``Mr. and Mrs. Haephrati are being investigated on suspicion of committing crimes under the [U.K.'s] 1990 Computer Misuse Act.''

"Trojan horse" software

Executives of some of Israel's largest companies, including mobile phone service providers and satellite television companies, have been accused of using software designed by the couple to access their rival's business plans.

Israeli police believe that as many as 80 companies have benefited from the software.

The couple are said to have developed ``Trojan horse'' software which hides in a computer system and allows outsiders free access. They are accused of working with three private investigation agencies in Israel who were employed by the companies to investigate their rivals.

The alleged espionage came to light by accident after a couple approached police in Tel Aviv, claiming their computers had been hacked into. Varda Raziel, a radio psychologist and Amnon Jacont, a writer, found personal material posted on the internet. They suspected Mr. Haephrati, who had been married to their daughter. Police expect more executives to be arrested soon. Mr. and Mrs. Haephrati have Israeli and German nationality but live in London.

They have a family website and an internet search on the family name reveals that Mr. Haephrati wrote short science fiction stories in Hebrew and offered his services in software design, specialising in security, intelligence and spyware.

The arrested executives have told police that they did not ask their private investigators to carry out illegal work. All said they believed the information they received from their rivals came from legitimate sources.

Israeli newspapers speculated that the criminal charges against the 21 might lead to widespread litigation. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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