Hacking Team, to hack computers and phones in Nigeria, new information emerging
from the firm’s leaked internal data has shown.
Hacking Team, notorious for equipping governments with tools to hack citizens’
computers and phones, was itself hacked Sunday night and 415 gigabyte of internal
data leaked to the public.
Researchers have been pouring through the leaked documents since it was first leaked
Sunday night, throwing up many shocking details of the firm’s secret dealings with
Bayelsa state and other repressive governments, including
Sudan, Russia, and Bahrain.
Documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES show that the Bayelsa government, a small state
in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta, paid Hacking Team N98 million to carry out internet
attacks, in what appears to be the most ambitious hacking project by a Nigerian state
government.
The contract was signed in late 2013, Hacking Team’s internal documents, leaked after
the Sunday night hack attack on the company, show.
Details of the extent of the attacks Hacking Team carried out on behalf of the state is
not clear at the moment.
The contract with the Bayelsa government is classed “intelligence ” – the same class
with contracts the firm unlawfully held with Russia and Sudan.
The cost of Bayelsa government’s contract with the firm is equivalent to what the
Russian government recently paid the firm for maintenance of its Remote Control
System. And worth more than what Turkey, Columbia and Bahrain paid to the firm.
Hacking Team, now learning how it feels to have one’s privacy breached, is notorious
for developing intrusive softwares for state clients who use them to hack citizen’s
computers and smartphones. Hacking Team’s twitter account was hacked and used to
announce the hack.
The firm claims its intrusion softwares – Remote Control Systems – are the most
invasive and ruthless, with ability to compromise most operating systems, except iOS –
but including jail-broken iOS.
In one video commercial, it boasted that its software could hack offline and encrypted
computers and smartphones, even if the target was outside the government’s
“monitoring domain”.
Hacking Team’s Remote Control Systems are more dangerous and intrusive than
the WISE technology the Nigerian government bought from Israeli company, Elbit in
2013.
While WISE depended on transmitted data such as voice calls, social media postings,
and number plates, Hacking Team specialized in software that had full capabilities to
hack, compromise your gadget and silently steal stored data like SMS, Whatsapp
messages, call records, and photos.
Galileo, one of the company’s most evil softwares, is also able to secretly take
snapshots and record conversations of its victims.
Hacking Team is loathed by digital activists and freedom of expression advocates all
over the world for helping oppressive regimes abuses citizens’ right to privacy and
freedom of speech.
Reporters Without Borders listed the firm on its Enemies of the Internet index due to its
primary surveillance tool, Da Vinci.
Few weeks ago, co-founder David Vincenzetti joked in emails about how bad a leak
would be for Hacking Team. In one of the leaked internal emails, he described the
firm’s product as the “evilest” technology ever developed on earth.
The hacking software is originally designed as a country-wide attack tool.
The intentions of the Bayelsa state government in purchasing the software is unclear at
this time.
As at the time the Bayelsa state government acquired the software, the state was not
known to be under any external cyber aggression.
But it’s governor, Seriake Dickson, was persecuting a citizen over critical Facebook
comments.
It was also in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.
During the same period, PREMIUM TIMES and few other Nigerian news organisations
believed to be critical of the former regime, led by Goodluck Jonathan, suffered several
cyber attacks.
Mr. Jonathan is from Bayelsa state and enjoyed absolute loyalty from Mr. Dickson at
the time.
Hacking Team did not sell its software directly to the Bayelsa state government. The
transaction was channeled through an Israeli company, NICE, and then V&V Nigeria.
V&V, also Israeli-owned, is known to have close relationship with former Bayelsa state
governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
V&V is responsible for the supply of many government hacking tools in Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier this year exclusively reported how V&V won a N6 billion
contract, back in 2010, for a N6 billion strategic GSM Tracking System for the Nigeria
Police Force and expansion/upgrade of the existing system with Nigeria’s secret police,
the State Security Service.
The Bayelsa Governor could initially not be reached to comment for this story.
His spokesperson, Daniel Iworiso-Markson did not answer or return calls seeking
comment. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him. And so also was
Dan Kikile, the state commissioner for information.
However, about an hour after this report was published, Mr. Iworiso-Markson said the
allegation against his principal was “absolutely untrue”.
“That is part of a series of propaganda from those who are unable to contest ideas of
development with the governor,” he said.
Source : Sahara reporters
No comments:
Post a Comment