The seven African governments using Israeli cyberespionage tools
As internet penetration and smartphone usage increases across Africa, digital spaces have become increasingly important in organising opposition movements. In response, several governments have at times shut down the internet or blocked social media apps. More recently, however, some regimes have turned to digital surveillance technology for more subtle ways to crush resistance.
In a recent report titled Running in Circles, the University
of Toronto’s Citizen Lab – which investigates digital espionage against civil
society – details how 25 governments around the world are using tools developed
by the Israeli telecoms company Circles. Its technology is sold to
nation-states only. It intercepts data from 3G networks, allowing the
infiltrator to read messages, emails, and listen in on phone calls as they
occur. Using only a telephone number, a Circles platform can also identify the
location of a phone anywhere in the world within seconds without a warrant.
Circles is affiliated with the notorious NSO Group, whose
Pegasus spyware has been widely used to spy on human rights defenders and
journalists. Unlike that technology, however, Circles’ tools does not require
targets to click on a malicious link. It works by exploiting flaws in
Signalling System No.7 (SS7), the set of protocols that allows networks to
exchange calls and text messages between each other. SS7 is predominantly used
in 2G and 3G systems, which in 2019 became the leading mobile technology in
sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for over 45% of all connections.
With the faster and possibly more secure 4G networks years
away from becoming the standard for mobile connectivity in Africa, Circles
technology is ideal for power-hungry African leaders looking to spy on critics.
Indeed, of the 25 countries identified as likely to be using Circles’ tools,
seven are on the continent.
Nigeria
Citizen Lab detected two Circles systems being used in
Nigeria. It identified one likely client as being the Nigerian Defence
Intelligence Agency (DIA), while a 2016 investigation by the Premium Times
found that the governors of Delta and Bayelsa states used Circles to spy on
opponents.
Nigeria has a long history of surveillance technologies
being used against civil society and government critics. Femi Adeyeye, a
Lagos-based political activist who has been detained several times, cites
several cases – such as those of Omoyele Sowore, Abubakar Idris Dadiyata and
Stephen Kefas – in which Nigerians have been swiftly traced, arrested and
detained after criticising the government. The Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) has also reported numerous cases of the Nigerian authorities targeting
journalists’ phones.
“We are already in the worst stage of dictatorship,” says
Adeyeye. “Freedom of expression, media, and political association have been
further weakened by this spying technology.”
He suggests that political analysts now self-censor,
particularly since witnessing the government’s infiltration of the #EndSARS
movement against police brutality in late-2020. “They have seen how people have
been traced, their passports seized, bank accounts frozen and they have been
forced to go into exile,” he says.
Zimbabwe
Three Circles platforms were detected in Zimbabwe. The use
of one dates back to 2013, while another was activated in March 2018. The
Zimbabwean government has long targeted its critics and opponents. Last year,
investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition politician Jacob
Ngarivhume were detained ahead of anti-government protests. Circles technology
may be facilitating this repression.
Equatorial Guinea
In Equatorial Guinea, Circles technologies have been
operating since 2013. For 40 years, President Teodoro Obiang has kept power
partly by suppressing opponents by using torture, extra-judicial executions,
arbitrary arrests, and the persecution of political activists and human rights
defenders. Obiang has violently crushed protests and ignored demands for
electoral reforms and term limits. Surveillance methods could be an important
part of his toolbox.
Morocco
Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior has been a Circles Client
since 2018. Rabat has a history of leveraging digital technology to unlawfully
target human rights activists.
Botswana
Despite being hailed as one of Africa’s most democratic
countries, Botswana’s Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS)
is linked to two Circles surveillance systems dating back to 2015. The DISS is
known for targeting journalists investigating political corruption.
According to Moeti Mohwasa, spokesperson for the opposition
Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Israeli companies have been selling
spying software to the Botswana government for years. He alleges that this
equipment has been used to eavesdrop on opposition politicians and union
leaders.
Kenya
Citizen Lab detected a Circles system being used in Kenya.
This did not surprise Suhayl Omar, who researches policing, surveillance, and
militarism in Nairobi.
“In Kenya, freedom of expression and media freedoms are
under constant threat. The [Uhuru] Kenyatta regime has waged a war against
constitutionalism and any form of opposition in Kenya,” he says. “The Kenyan
government relies heavily on surveillance of its citizens to crack down on any
form of opposition.”
Zambia
Zambia appears to be another Circles client. Its government
also has a record of using surveillance against its critics. In 2019,
authorities arrested a group of bloggers who ran an opposition news site,
allegedly with the aid of a cyber-surveillance unit in Zambia’s
telecommunications regulator used to pinpoint the bloggers’ locations. It is
not known if a Circles system was used but the technology has these
capabilities.
Should the Israeli government be held responsible?
The ultimate responsibility for using these surveillance
technologies lies with the government agencies that pay huge sums for them.
However, some campaigners argue that the Israeli government shoulders some
responsibility too for allowing questionable tech firms such as Circles to
operate and by providing them with export licenses.
Israeli minister Zeev Elkin has refuted this suggestion,
insisting that “everyone understands that this is not about the state of
Israel”. But many disagree.
“The Israeli regime has actively enabled the
authoritarianism of Uhuru Kenyatta,” says Omar. Mohwasa makes the same argument
regarding the government in Botswana which he suggests is increasingly eroding
civil rights. “Israel is aiding these dangerous trends,” he adds.
In January 2020, Amnesty International filed a lawsuit in
Israel calling for the Defence Ministry to ban the export of invasive spying
software. In July, a court denied the request.
According to some analysts, the sale of spying equipment is
in fact an important part of Israel’s diplomatic charm offensive in Africa. Tel
Aviv has been forging closer partnerships with governments on the continent in
recent years in the hope of diminishing African solidarity with Palestine and
gaining supportive votes in the UN. Helping rulers stay in power – even at the
cost of widespread popular freedoms – is one way to make friends.
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