Slashdot Mirror


Spyware Firms in Breach of Global Sanctions (aljazeera.com)

From a report on Al Jazeera: Spy equipment producers are breaking laws and circumventing international sanctions by agreeing to sell stock to countries known for human rights abuses, and to clients who do not declare the end user -- meaning surveillance tools could easily fall into the hands of armed groups, corporations, governments cracking down on dissent, or opposition leaders, an exclusive investigation by Al Jazeera reveals. During "Spy Merchants", a four-month undercover operation, Al Jazeera secretly filmed representatives of two Italian companies and one Chinese business agreeing to sell spyware that is capable of tracking millions of people online and able to intercept phone calls and text messages without anyone finding out. The vendors boasted of being able to side-step the law by using sister and shell companies and explained how to possibly circumvent export regulations by lying about the details of shipments and using third countries exempted from certain rules as stopping places.

11 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Shocked I am. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Shocked and surprised. Who could have possibly imagined an outcome like this?

    In fact, who could possibly have imagined anything else but this sort of thing happening?

    (Evil laugh.)

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    1. Re:Shocked I am. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Doesn't really make a difference, does it? If $RandomNasty can get the product from somebody in China or Italy or the Seychelles what do they care? Maybe you could get a quick vacation to an exotic place without getting strip searched. Especially software. All you need is something to pretend it's a bank and an internet connection.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Shocked I am. by guruevi · · Score: 2

      A lot of established US and UK companies will only deal with US and UK companies, to get their products, you have to go through one of their shell companies directly.

      Startups and competitors looking for a good market share won't care, especially not in China.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  2. Let me get this straight... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2

    So... Manufacturers of spy equipment sell to shady people? SURPRISE!

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Let me get this straight... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2

      Do not spy, the government doesn't like competition.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  3. Not surprised, and having trouble being outraged. by Baron_Yam · · Score: 3, Insightful

    >Spy equipment producers are breaking laws and circumventing international sanctions by agreeing to sell stock to countries known for human rights abuses, and to clients who do not declare the end user -- meaning surveillance tools could easily fall into the hands of armed groups, corporations, governments cracking down on dissent, or opposition leaders,

    Unless you have a cop assigned to follow each device 24/7, they're going to end up wherever anyway.

    Unlike nuclear bombs which are kind of difficult to make (and we still can't stop the tech and materials from spreading), most 'spy tech' is fairly easy to reproduce once you understand it.

    It's like trying to stop a river with a chain link fence...

  4. I'd like to know ... by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... how Canada ever got their hands on this stuff.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:I'd like to know ... by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Funny

      ... how Canada ever got their hands on this stuff.

      Seeing as how it's Canada they probably asked very politely.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  5. Re:human rights abuses == muslims by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yep. Just look as that damn Muslim Myanmar persecuting all of those Buddhist Rohingya. Wait, you mean Myanmar are the Buddhists and Rohingya are Mulsim? Well, certainly that's just an isolated incident. Oh, you mean China severely represses the Muslim Uighurs? Well, they are evil, atheist Communists, something like that would never happen in a democracy. Damn, the Hindu dominated government in Uttar Pradesh (a state in the world's largest democracy, India) is severely cracking down on slaughterhouses (disproportionately affecting Christian and Muslim minorities in the state) over alleged killing of cattle. At least things are better here in the US though. We don't persecute Muslims. We just have people kill non-Muslims because they assumeall brown people are Muslim

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  6. im sure reactions were panicked. by nimbius · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Christs whiskers you guys!! did you know we're violating global sanctions?!?! pull the plug! weve got to stop this insanity before its too late!"
    --no spyware vendor, ever.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  7. Good to know. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    And now that we know, it's time to prosecute them, no?

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.