Athena is the winner of the Tax Authority's tender to establish a data mining system from free databases on the Internet, Calcalist reports.
According to the report, the company It has developed a system that will be implemented in the Authority and aims to provide incriminating information about those suspected of tax evasion.
The Tax Authority estimates that by cross-referencing the information found on the Internet with its extensive databases, they will be able to more effectively locate tax evaders.
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For example, the system will mine information on social networks, where users report on products they purchased abroad and brought to Israel. The authority's personnel will be able to use the system to locate people who brought products into Israel without reporting them, and cross-reference the information with what they declared upon entering the country.
Alongside this report, Calcalist adds that "the ultra-Orthodox population, whose tax evasion rates are estimated to be considerably higher than the general population, is not expected to be too high on the system's screens - since the use of social networks is less common in this sector.".
Data exposed to all
Activating the new system Does not require legislation, as this is data that is exposed to everyone on the Internet. The move is part of the Tax Authority's strategy to expand its information sources.
Athena was founded by former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit, who currently serves as its chairman of the board. Athena was sold to Mer in the previous decade.
Athena began working on developing the system in January, and according to the original plan, it will be ready for use in early 2017.
The Tax Authority will pay 4.25 million shekels for the establishment, installation, and implementation of the system, and will then decide whether to pay 1.57 million shekels per year for maintenance.
''Mr' is a company that deals with a wide range of security and intelligence areas. Among other things, it secures the Knesset and the Old City in Jerusalem with cameras and access control.
To date, Athena has established several information collection systems from free databases on the Internet for foreign governments.
