37C3 - Predator Files: How European spyware threatens civil society around the world

Security

European spyware, developed by Inteleks Alliance, threatens civil society globally, compromising devices and jeopardizing human rights through network injection attacks, encryption intercepts, and political repression.

Key takeaways

The Predator spyware is developed by European-based Inteleks Alliance, which has customers in 15 countries worldwide, including Vietnam.
The spyware can infect phones by targeting the baseband of Samsung devices and is used to intercept encrypted websites.
The tool can also be used to compromise desktop systems and requires no specific action from the target.
Once infected, the spyware can access everything the user can access on the device and more, including photos, signal messages, microphone, and GPS sensors.
The Inteleks Alliance sells a product called Mars, which is an ISP-level network injection system used to enable attacks.
The company has a clever technique to get around limitations and can use existing one-click exploits to infect phones.
The Eva SPYware is also used to compromise devices, and the company has been involved in deals worth millions of euros.
The European Commission’s official Twitter account has been targeted with malicious Predator links.
Journalists and civil society members are being targeted with the spyware, and some have been kidnapped or received death threats.
The sale of spyware is subject to EU dual-use regulations, but there is a lack of transparency and oversight.
The implementation of network injection attacks is difficult to detect, and the tools are designed to bypass security mechanisms.
The European Union and its member states have a role to play in regulating and overseeing the sale and use of surveillance tools.
There are concerns about the use of spyware for political repression and human rights violations.
Researchers and civil society organizations have developed methods to detect and document the use of spyware, including forensic tools and public logs.
The financial industry has a responsibility to regulate and monitor transactions related to spyware sales.
The use of spyware is a serious human rights concern and can lead to physical threats and violence against targets.
There is a need for greater transparency, accountability, and regulation of the surveillance industry.
The industry is characterized by a lack of transparency, with companies working together to develop and sell spyware.
The use of spyware is a global issue, with European companies involved in the development and sale of spyware around the world.

37C3 - Predator Files: How European spyware threatens civil society around the world

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