From Ethiopia To Vietnam, Researchers Map Reach Of German-Made Government Spy Software
Source: Associated Press
LONDON - The discovery of a new group of servers linked to an elusive espionage campaign is providing new details about a German-made, high-tech piece of spy software that some fear may be used to target dissidents by oppressive regimes.
A Canadian research center said Wednesday that it had identified 25 different countries that host servers linked to FinFisher, a Trojan horse program which can dodge anti-virus protections to steal data, log keystrokes, eavesdrop on Skype calls, and turn microphones and webcams into live surveillance devices.
Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, said that Canada, Mexico, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Serbia, and Vietnam were among the host countries newly identified in Wednesday's report. That alone doesn't necessarily mean those countries' governments are using FinFisher, a program distributed by British company Gamma International, but it is an indication of the spyware's international reach.
Morgan Marquis-Boire, the report's lead author, said his goal was "to show the proliferation of this type of active intrusion and surveillance." In telephone interview, he said that the world of government surveillance was changing and urged journalists, aid workers, and activists to take note.
"It's not just phone tapping," he said. "It's installing a backdoor on your computer to record your Skype conversations and go through your email."
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