FinSpy Commercial Spyware Abused By Governments

Posted by Soulskill on Friday August 31, 2012 @03:01AM from the you-can-trust-us dept.

plover writes "The NY Times has a story about FinSpy, a commercial spyware package sold 'only for law enforcement purposes,' being used by governments to spy on dissidents, journalists, and others. Two U.S. computer experts, Morgan Marquis-Boire from Google, and Bill Marczak, a PhD student in Computer Science, have been tracking it down around the world. 'The software proved to be the stuff of a spy film: it can grab images of computer screens, record Skype chats, turn on cameras and microphones and log keystrokes. The two men said they discovered mobile versions of the spyware customized for all major mobile phones. But what made the software especially sophisticated was how well it avoided detection. Its creators specifically engineered it to elude antivirus software made by Kaspersky Lab, Symantec, F-Secure and others.'"

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Obligatory question by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-31 03:07 · Score: 5, Funny

Does it run on Linux?
Problem? What problem? by interval1066 · 2012-08-31 03:45 · Score: 3, Funny

Contractor/Vendor: "Here is a hammer. Its use for driving nails. YOU MAY NOT use it to murder people. Understand? No murdering."
Government: "Ok. No murdering."

Frankly, I don't see the problem.

--
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Re:Paywall by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-31 03:52 · Score: 5, Funny

You tried to read the article?
BURN THE HERETIC!