Researchers suggest 25 countries are using a kind of mobile spyware that monitors texts, location

guest · Dec 2, 2020

Researchers suggest 25 countries are using a kind of mobile spyware that monitors texts, location
December 1, 2020
https://www.cyberscoop.com/circles-mobile-spyware-citizen-lab/

A private surveillance firm that exploits mobile network vulnerabilities to spy on calls, texts and location data is doing business with at least 25 governments around the globe, including some with histories of human rights abuses, concludes a report released Tuesday.

The findings from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab scrutinize the work of the company Circles, which is a sister firm of the Israeli software surveillance broker NSO Group.

“The authoritarian profile of some of Circles’ apparent government clients is troubling, but not surprising,” the Citizen Lab team wrote. “Over the past decade, the explosion of the global surveillance industry has fueled a massive transfer of spy technology to problematic regimes and security services.”
And there’s no trace that Circles’ product has been on a victim’s phone. But Citizen Lab said it was able to conduct internet scans for a unique signature “associated with the hostnames of Check Point firewalls used in Circles deployments.”
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NSO Group did not return messages seeking comment on the Citizen Lab report. A spokesperson told Forbes it had not yet seen the report, that both companies have high ethical standards and that Circles was focused on search and rescue and “tactical geological technology.” NSO Group is a frequent target of critical Citizen Lab reports.

“Given Citizen Lab’s track record, we imagine this will once again be based on inaccurate assumptions and without a full command of the facts,” the spokesperson said.
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Citizen Lab: Running in Circles - Uncovering the Clients of Cyberespionage Firm Circles

Circles is a surveillance firm that reportedly exploits weaknesses in the global mobile phone system to snoop on calls, texts, and the location of phones around the globe. Circles is affiliated with NSO Group, which develops the oft-abused Pegasus spyware.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, all U.S. wireless networks are vulnerable to the types of weaknesses reportedly exploited by Circles. A majority of networks around the globe are similarly vulnerable.

We determine that the governments of the following countries are likely Circles customers: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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Researchers suggest 25 countries are using a kind of mobile spyware that monitors texts, location

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