The surveillance industrial complex in the #EU is out of control.
Beyond never-ending efforts to undermine encryption, there's a wilful failure to regulate spyware exploiting security vulnerabilities -- because those same products are seen as useful by law enforcement agencies.
Amnesty and many others have been sounding the alarm about this for a while, but not enough people are paying attention. This hurts everyone's security. It's absolutely bonkers.
« Abonnez-vous », notre émission Twitch. « Predator Files », ou comment la France a aidé des dictatures à espionner leur peuple, avec Yann Philippin
Lundi 16 octobre, Yann Philippin est l’invité d’« Abonnez-vous ». Journaliste du pôle enquêtes de Mediapart, il est spécialisé dans les affaires financières, de fraude fiscale et de corruption (#PredatorFiles).
🇬🇧#PredatorFiles: Spyware needs to be banned - contrary to last week's vote of conservatives, socialists and liberals on the #MediaFreedomAct.
And smartphone operating system manufacturers should be held liable for the unpatched security holes that spyware manufacturers exploit! https://t.co/uFVn8c6CNb
#EU#USA#Cybersecurity#Spyware#Predator#PredatorFiles#Intellexa: "Shocking spyware attacks have been attempted against civil society, journalists, politicians and academics in the European Union (EU), USA and Asia, according to a major new investigation by Amnesty International. Among the targets of Predator spyware are United Nations (UN) officials, a Senator and Congressman in the USA and even the Presidents of the European Parliament and Taiwan. The investigation is part of the ‘Predator Files’ project, in partnership with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) and backed by additional in-depth reporting by Mediapart and Der Spiegel.
Between February and June 2023, social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook were used to publicly target at least 50 accounts belonging to 27 individuals and 23 institutions. The cyber-surveillance weapon used for targeting was an invasive spyware tool called Predator, which was developed and sold by the Intellexa alliance. This alliance, which has advertised itself as “EU based and regulated”, is a complex and often changing group of companies that develops and sells surveillance products, including Predator spyware.
Predator is a type of highly invasive spyware. This means that once it has infiltrated a device it has unfettered access to its microphone and camera and all its data such as contacts, messages, photos and videos, while the user is entirely unaware. Such spyware cannot, at present, be independently audited or limited in its functionality to only those functions that are necessary and proportionate to a specific use. "
«Predator Files»: les réponses floues et fausses du ministre Jean-Noël Barrot
Interrogé à l’Assemblée nationale sur les «#PredatorFiles», le ministre de la transition numérique Jean-Noël Barrot a livré des réponses floues et parfois inexactes, révélatrices de l’embarras de l’exécutif. Interrogés par Mediapart, les ministres des armées, des affaires étrangères et de l’Europe ont botté en touche.
Clicking on the links in these #Twitter/@X replies to officials could lead to the infection of a device with #Predator mercenary spyware. Turning it into a spy in your pocket. Replies to:
❌🇺🇸 US congresspeople
❌ 🇪🇺EU & Asian officials
❌ Journalists
-John Scott-Railton
The Post’s #PredatorFiles story shows that new ally Vietnam tried to hack four members of Congress and others in the U.S., including a CNN anchor. Free link to our international collaboration:
The Post’s #PredatorFiles story shows that new ally Vietnam tried to hack four members of Congress and others in the U.S., including a CNN anchor. Free link to our international collaboration: https://wapo.st/3RLBRPj
Today Amnesty International releases the 'Predator Files: Caught in the Net' report. It reveals brazen targeting of civil society, politicians and officials!
The investigation is part of the ‘#PredatorFiles’ project, in partnership with the @EICnetwork.
Between February and June 2023, on both X and Facebook an actor targeted dozens of institutions and individuals. Among the targets of Predator spyware are United Nations (UN) officials, a Senator and Congressman in the USA and the Presidents of the European Parliament and Taiwan.
The cyber-surveillance weapon used for targeting was an invasive spyware tool called Predator, which was developed and sold by the Intellexa alliance. This alliance, which has advertised itself as “EU based and regulated”.`
An attacker-controlled X (previously Twitter) account, named ‘@Joseph_Gordon16', shared many of the identified attack links which aimed to infect targets with the Predator spyware.`
The investigation found that the '@Joseph_Gordon16' attacker account had close links to Viet Nam and may have been acting on behalf of Vietnamese authorities or interest groups.
The investigation also uncovered evidence that a company within the Intellexa alliance signed a multi-million euro deal for “infection solutions” with Viet Nam’s Ministry of Public Security (MOPS) in early 2020, codenamed “Angler Fish”.
Quand une journaliste fait réagir le ministre concerné sur la complicité du gouvernmnt de violation de l’embargo sur les ventes d’#armes à un groupe libyen soupçonné de #crimesdeguerre, il trouve la question "déplacé", "irrespectueuse des éleveurs" (il est venu communiquer avec eux), "moche" et "#typiqueDeVotreJournalismeQueJeNaimePas".
L'enquête judiciaire ouverte a été bloqué par le ministère. #secretdefense
Les révélations des #PredatorFiles par le consortium EIC avec Amnesty International, et notamment les publications de @Mediapart sont effrayantes. On y découvre le rôle des autorités françaises qui ont approuvé, voir soutenu la vente d'outils de surveillance numérique à des régimes autoritaires. On y voit notamment le rôle de la DGSE dans le contrat avec la Libye de Kadhafi, qui aurait notamment tenté d'en masquer les preuves au moment de la chute du régime. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/dossier/predator-files
#PredatorFiles : en parallèle de l’enquête des journalistes, @amnestyfrance publiera sa propre recherche le 9 octobre dans le cadre des Pretador Files.
Les groupes parlementaires de La @FranceInsoumise et @EcologistesAN demandent la création d’une commission d’enquête à la suite des révélations #PredatorFiles de @Mediapart
& @EICnetwork sur la vente de matériel de logiciels espions à plusieurs dictatures, dont l’Arabie Saoudite.
Wie die Europäische Union ihre Kontrollen aufweichte – und Deutschland half.
Finnland, Schweden, Dänemark und Deutschland bohrten Schlupflöcher in die neue Verordnung zum Export von Überwachungstechnik.
Das zeigen Dokumente, die wir gemeinsam mit dem @spiegel und dem journalistischen Recherchenetzwerk European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) befreit haben. #pegasus#PredatorFiles
Dass die EU-Kommission die Totalüberwachung und digitale
Kontrolle im Internet genauso wie im Alltag, an ihren Außengrenzen zur Bekämpfung von fliehenden Menschen und im Inneren u.a. für den Datenkapitalismus weiter ausbaut, ist nichts Neues. Nicht nur besteht sie aus stramm neoliberalen, autoritären Politiker*innen, die schon zuvor immer wieder mit repressiven Vorhaben angekommen sind, es geht allgemein mit dem Überwachungs- und Krisenkapitalismus auch eine autoritäre Transformation einher.
Als Antiautoritäre stellen wir uns diesen Entwicklungen und Allen, die sie voranbringen wollen, entschlossen entgegen!
#PredatorFiles Wie Deutsche an der Spionagesoftware #Predator mitverdienen #Staatstrojaner
"(...)
Laut dem Bericht hatte auch die deutsche Regierung wenig Hemmungen, Geschäfte mit #Intellexa zu machen – obwohl zu dem Zeitpunkt schon bekannt war, dass das Konsortium auch autoritäre Staaten wie #Ägypten mit Überwachungswerkzeugen beliefert hatte.
(...)
Predator ist ein so genannter Staatstrojaner: ein Überwachungswerkzeug, das speziell für Militär, Geheimdienste und Ermittlungsbehörden gemacht ist. Angreifer können das Programm unbemerkt aus der Ferne auf einem Mobiltelefon installieren. Dort schneidet es Anrufe, Videos, den Standort mit, auch verschlüsselte Nachrichten in Messengern wie Signal oder WhatsApp noch bevor diese verschickt werden.
Staaten pochen darauf, ihre Ermittlungsbehörden bräuchten solche Werkzeuge, um gegen #Terror und schwere #Kriminalität zu ermitteln." https://netzpolitik.org/2023/staatstrojaner-wie-deutsche-an-der-spionagesoftware-predator-mitverdienen/ #Überwachung#Staat#Herrschaft#Kapitalismus#Antireport#Bundesregierung#Autoritarisierung
#PredatorFiles investigation reveals catastrophic failure to regulate surveillance trade
"A new investigation into the global #surveillance crisis by the #European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network, with technical assistance from Amnesty International’s Security Lab, today begins to reveal the shocking truth about how far the industry’s tentacles have spread and how ineffective #EU regulation has been in controlling it.
(...)
Intellexa alliance’s products have been found in at least 25 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa and have been used to undermine human rights, press freedom, and social movements across the globe." https://securitylab.amnesty.org/latest/2023/10/global-predator-files-investigation-reveals-catastrophic-failure-to-regulate-surveillance-trade/