The list of people allegedly targeted by NSO Group
surveillance software is growing by the day.
Religious and political opposition leaders in Togo were
targeted last year with spyware developed by Israeli software surveillance firm
NSO Group, according to security researchers at University of Toronto Munk
School’s Citizen Lab.
Like many of the company’s past actions, the alleged NSO
surveillance in Togo used Facebook’s WhatsApp to target religious clergy and
politicians, Citizen Lab researchers said. The effort was part of a broader
hacking campaign that targeted thousands of WhatsApp users with NSO Group
spyware in 2019, according to Citizen Lab.
NSO Group has repeatedly said that its software is only sold
to law enforcement or intelligence agencies in order to target terrorists and
criminals. But the revelations about surveillance in Togo are just the latest
allegations that NSO Group spyware has enabled surveillance of political
opponents and other perceived government critics. Other alleged NSO Group
victims include journalists in Morocco, Catalonian separatist leaders in Spain,
and human rights activists in India.
The alleged surveillance in Togo came amid a longstanding
political movement to impose presidential term limits in the country, a
movement that the government has worked to restrict in recent years. The bishop
and priest targeted in the alleged attacks, like the political dissidents, have
been critical of the Togolese government, according to Citizen Lab.
It was not clear who was responsible for using the surveillance
software, although some of the victims, including the bishop Monseigneur Benoît
Comlan Alowonou, told The Guardian they believe the Togolese government is
behind the campaign.
Citizen Lab previously reported in 2018 that there was at
least one operator of NSO Group spyware in Togo that Citizen Lab “suspected”
was “operated by an agency of the Togolese Government.” Citizen Lab did not
explicitly blame the Togolese government for the allegations revealed Monday.
WhatsApp and Citizen Lab had previously informed the
Togolese victims named Monday that they had been targeted by NSO Group spyware.
This is the first time they are publicly revealing they were targeted, which
The Guardian and Le Monde first reported.
Facebook has sued NSO Group in U.S. federal court over the
sweeping campaign exploiting WhatsApp. Despite NSO Group’s efforts to get the
case thrown out of court, a judge recently ruled the case could move forward.
The case has not been resolved yet.
An NSO Group spokesperson told CyberScoop in a statement
they “cannot confirm or deny” who the company’s customers are.
“[W]e are not privy to who our authorised and verified
sovereign government clients target using our technology, though they are
contractually obliged to only do so against terrorists and criminals. If an
investigation is warranted, NSO will conduct one following our industry-leading
human rights processes,” the spokesperson added. “We remain incredibly proud of
our technology’s contribution in fighting terrorism and serious crime globally
and our role in helping governments save lives.”
Comments
Post a Comment