NSO’s Pegasus Spyware Has a Cousin and it has Been Around for More than a Decade
While the NSO Group went from darling to villain quickly once what they were doing became public, there are many unrelated cousins that are doing equally nasty things and are staying in the shadows. Now, one more has been exposed.
The Predator Files is a collaborative investigative action by a group of journalism organizations that is shedding light on yet another spyware alliance.
This time, the spyware is being called the Intellexa Alliance. This is not one company but the main focus is the Predator spyware.
Amnesty International and Security Lab says they have found 25 countries who have purchased the spyware. While none of the governments are talking, history tells us that the use of this type of software often undermines human rights, press freedoms and social movements. Among other things.
Given that it is the government that is buying and using this software, they have very little incentive to shut down the use. Of course, they complain loudly if anyone uses it against them.
Amnesty International says:
“The ‘Predator Files’ investigation shows what we have long feared: that highly invasive surveillance products are being traded on a near industrial scale and are free to operate in the shadows without oversight or any genuine accountability,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general. “It proves, yet again, that European countries and institutions have failed to effectively regulate the sale and transfer of these products.”
The US government just placed Intellexa on the entity list, effectively banning US companies from dealing with them. This is part of an effort by the US to crack down on spyware abuse.
Among the countries that the media investigators say bought the Intellexa software are Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Oman, Qatar, Congo, Kenya, UAE, Singapore, Pakistan, Jordan and Vietnam. Among others.
While the “alliance” no longer exists, that doesn’t mean that the software went away.
Part of the problem – possibly the only part of the problem – is that it appears that this was all sold legally under the laws of the various countries. As I said, if the fox is guarding the henhouse, no one is safe.
In Europe, where most of this activity is occurring, a committee investigating spyware is meeting resistance from EU nations. After all, they have been spying on all sorts of people for a decade so why would they want to stop?
Credit: Cybersecurity 202 (The Washington Post-subscription required) and EIC.
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