Israeli Firm Responsible for Hacking Journalists, Human Rights Advocates
An Israeli firm has marketed espionage technologies to governments with offensive human rights histories.
An Israeli hacking-for-hire organization has assisted government clients in spying on more than 100 people around the world, including politicians, dissidents, human rights activists, embassy personnel, and journalists, according to a Microsoft report.
The identified Israeli company, Candiru, is part of a growing sector of largely unregulated spyware companies that offer surveillance equipment to government intelligence services and law enforcement organizations, many of which have offensive human rights histories.
According to Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research group that identified persons targeted by Candiru's malicious software, Candiru has likely marketed eavesdropping capabilities to governments. The spying tools are then used independently by those governments.