Shocking claim from CHP: Is the cybersecurity of the General Staff and the Police entrusted to Israel?

CHP MP Yüksel Mansur Kılınç has brought to the parliamentary agenda allegations that the General Staff and Police Intelligence use cybersecurity software from the Israeli company "Check Point Software Technologies." Questioning why no explanation has been provided regarding these allegations, Kılınç referred to the words of AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan: "The Israeli administration is threatening our country."

Kılınç emphasized that the Ministry of National Defense has not made any statement denying the reports in question. Furthermore, he pointed to Check Point's ties to Israel, stating that this situation could jeopardize Turkey's security.

Pointing out that the company "Check Point Software Technologies" has partnerships with Israel's largest arms companies, Kılınç included the information that "The company's founder, partner, and CEO, Gil Shwed, worked in Unit 8200 of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, AMAN, and the company's first product was developed there."

Stating that Check Point's Vice President Dorit Dor served for many years as a cyber spy in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the questions Kılınç directed to Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler are as follows:

1) Are the products of the company "Check Point Software Technologies" and the company's solution partners being used in the General Staff and institutions and organizations affiliated with the General Staff? If they are being used, since what date have they been in use?

2) If the products of the company "Check Point Software Technologies" and the company's solution partners are being used in the General Staff and institutions and organizations affiliated with the General Staff, will the use of these products continue after the highest-level state officials of the Republic of Turkey have stated that Israel threatens our country's security?

3) Does the tender text for the Firewall Software Procurement to be used at the Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) Command, with a purchase date of 30.04.2014, published on the Ministry of National Defense's website, contain the phrase "The installation of the proposed product and its integration with the Check Point Firewall Management System located at the General Staff will be ensured"?

4) Why has your Ministry not made a statement regarding the reports that the General Staff uses the firewall software of the cybersecurity company "Check Point Software Technologies," which is linked to the State of Israel, during days when it is being stated by the highest-level state officials of the Republic of Turkey that Israel threatens our country's security?

5) If the General Staff and institutions and organizations affiliated with the General Staff used the products of the company "Check Point Software Technologies" and its solution partners, has a comprehensive check, examination, and investigation been conducted to determine whether a security vulnerability occurred and whether the security of the data on the computers used was ensured?

In the parliamentary question he submitted for Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya to answer, CHP MP Yüksel Mansur Kılınç asked whether the products of the company "Check Point Software Technologies" and the company's solution partners are being used in the Ministry of Interior and institutions and organizations affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, primarily the General Directorate of Security Intelligence Department.