An Israeli man has been arrested over accusations he hacked into a recruitment web site run by Mossad, Israel's main intelligence agency.

The 23-year-old man, who is yet to be identified, has been charged in a Jerusalem court over the alleged attack, Israel Radio reported yesterday. AP reports that the nature of the charges or even the date of the alleged security breech of the Mossad-run site remains unclear.

According to radio reports cited by AP, prosecutors claim that the accused deliberately hacked into the recruitment site in a "sophisticated attack" but was "unable to decipher the information he received".

Defence lawyers said their client was only checking the security of the site to make sure any information he sent was secure.

An expert witness told the court Mossad's web site is under almost constant attack, with the vast majority of assaults originating from outside Israel.

Mossad set up its recruitment site last year in the hopes of attracting more potential spies by allowing applicants to submit applications and CVs online. This was a major switch for the agency, which previously never solicited applications to join its ranks, instead admitting recruits by invitation only. ®