Advertisement

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.

Hacking Team's clients are a who's who of despotic regimes

Journalist

Updated Sat, Jul 11, 2015, 1:30 PM

We now know that Hacking Team, a company responsible for building some of the more notorious surveillance software in the world, was also doing business with some of the most notorious regimes in the world. How do we know this? Well a treasure trove of leaked documents found their way online. Thanks internet! Wondering just what actors the company was working with and how bad they were? Well check we've got a handy breakdown for you below.

<p>Australian authorities are known to be an avid user of phone, internet and communications networks surveillance; a number of human rights organizations oppose its vague and broad new counterterrorism laws, which infringe on freedom of expression and movement.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/asia/australia"><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">https://www.hrw.org/asia/australia</span></a></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Azerbaijani authorities reportedly ramped up their surveillance in 2011; dozens of human rights defenders, political and civil activists, journalists and bloggers have been arrested or imprisoned on politically motivated charges, prompting others to flee Azerbaijan or go into hiding.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/azerbaijan" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/azerbaijan</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Chile is still recovering from the effects of long-term surveillance and laws under which citizens were executed for breaking curfew; former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet pioneered the use of “disappearances.”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/chile" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/americas/chile</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">In 2014, Colombia's intelligence service carried out surveillance of NGOs, journalists and politicians; Buenaventura residents report witnessing police meet with local "mafia" with "chop-up" houses, where they "disappeared” scores -- and possibly hundreds -- of Buenaventura residents over the past several years.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/colombia" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/americas/colombia</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">According to a 2013 report, Ecuador's intelligence agency sought new equipment for large-scale surveillance; the report was denied by a top Ecuadorian official. Ecuador's 2014 Constitutional reforms were blasted by Human Rights Watch as making it "easier for the government to impose arbitrary restrictions on the media and routinely use the military in public security operations, at the same time making it harder for citizens to file complaints about abuses.” Meanwhile, over the past year, Ecuadorians see content disappearing from their personal Facebook pages, YouTube video channels or Twitter accounts -- specifically, content that criticizes, mocks or exposes the Ecuadorian government.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/ecuador" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/americas/ecuador</a></span></p>

<p></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">The Egyptian government has effectively banned protests and sentenced hundreds of political opponents to death or life imprisonment; Amnesty International has said the Egyptian authority's commitment to indiscriminately surveil its citizens "shows the little regard they have for human rights or the rule of law."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/egypt" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/egypt</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Human rights organizations have publicly taken Hacking Team to task for doing business with Ethiopia, where authorities use arbitrary arrests and prosecutions to silence journalists, bloggers and protesters; detainees routinely allege torture and ill-treatment -- and extreme citizen surveillance is a well-documented, key tool in implementing the will of authorities.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/africa/ethiopia</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Honduras is where rights advocates and community leaders have been assaulted and even killed for their work; in 2014, staff members of the Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), a prominent human rights organization, reported ongoing surveillance and attacks.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/honduras" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/americas/honduras</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Iraqi Kurdish security forces violently opposed and silenced Arab Spring protests (calling for an end to widespread corruption and greater civil and political rights) in 2011, when journalists were shot and buildings burned; the state currently cordons off Arab residents and refuses to let them return home (as a security response to the ISIS threat.)</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/kurdistan" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/kurdistan</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Kazakhstan relies heavily on mandatory surveillance laws to restrict freedom of assembly, speech and religion, and torture remains common in places of detention and while some police officers faced charges, impunity remains the norm.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/kazakhstan" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/kazakhstan</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Malaysia's parliament passed a controversial counterterrorism law in April that will allow police to detain suspects without trial for up to two years, while Malaysia's Internal Security Act, nicknamed the “white terror,” is used to suppress journalists, bloggers and others. </span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/asia/malaysia" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/asia/malaysia</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Mexico’s online surveillance laws fail to comport with international laws and norms on surveillance, privacy and freedom of expression; Human Rights Watch has documented abuses by security forces (egregious human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.) throughout the country, including 149 cases of enforced disappearances, while UN human rights monitors have found that torture is a “generalized” practice in the country, and that extrajudicial executions by security forces have been “widespread.” </span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/mexico" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/americas/mexico</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Mongolia's constitution prohibits interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence, yet, there are reports of government surveillance, wiretapping and email-account monitoring.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/mongolia" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/mongolia</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Privacy International reported in April that citizen reporters were targeted with Hacking Team's Remote Control System spyware; Moroccan courts convict and sentence to prison terms street protesters and dissidents following unfair trials -- while security officials have reportedly handcuffed, stripped, blindfolded and subjected detainees to torture. </span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/morocco/western-sahara" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/morocco/western-sahara</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Nigeria -- with its large-scale violence, endemic corruption, a lack of accountability for abuses and other pressing human rights problems -- is a country known for being under "total surveillance" by its government; government security forces are implicated in human rights abuses throughout the country, with little effort made to bring to hold those responsible to account.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">In May it was reported that The Sultan of Oman's intelligence services were spying on the local operations of British oil company Shell with the aid of Gamma Group; authorities routinely target activists, bloggers, and government critics using short term arrests and detentions and other forms of harassment (some detainees arrested since 2011 have allegedly reported that security forces tortured or otherwise ill-treated them). </span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/oman" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/oman</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">According to the EFF, "Leaked US diplomatic cables posted on the WikiLeaks whistleblower website shed light on the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) communications-surveillance program and how the governments of Paraguay and Panama pressured the US government to allow the use of these technologies for operations unrelated to narcotics investigations."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/panama" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/panama</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Surveillance is rampant in Saudi Arabia, where anyone who uses communication technology is subject to government monitoring, while Saudi Arabia has increased its arbitrary arrests, trials and convictions of peaceful dissidents; this year sees a spike in Saudi executions -- often by beheading, where authorities have already carried out 100 since the beginning of 2015 (more than the 88 for all of 2014).</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/saudi-arabia" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/saudi-arabia</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Freedom House reported in 2013 that "dozens [of UAE citizens] have been detained for their political discussions on online forums and social media. Many have indicated that they were held without charge, denied the right to an attorney, and tortured. … There is a general feeling among those who reside in the UAE that online tools are monitored and that surveillance is widely practiced with little judicial oversight."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/united-arab-emirates" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/united-arab-emirates</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">The US government’s invasive and unrestrained collection of its citizens' personal data has seen human rights organizations and American citizens calling for Patriot Act surveillance reform; this year, Human Rights Watch, ACLU and Amnesty International have called for a special prosecutor for torture regarding the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/united-states" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/united-states</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Multinational companies Verint Israel and NICE Systems provide Uzbekistan with increasingly advanced surveillance tech to aid state repression. Human Rights Watch writes, "Uzbekistan’s human rights record is atrocious. Thousands are imprisoned on politically motivated charges. Torture is endemic in the criminal justice system. Authorities continue to crackdown on civil society activists, opposition members and journalists."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/uzbekistan" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/uzbekistan</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">German daily <em>Sueddeutsche Zeitung</em>, the Greek daily <em>Ta Nea</em> and the Greek channel AlphaTV revealed that Cyprus is a Middle Eastern surveillance hub for the UK and US, and the country "is a key site for the mass surveillance systems revealed by US whistleblower Edward Snowden."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/cyprus" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/sitesearch/cyprus</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">According to OpenDemocracy, "The Czech state doesn't have the capacities to develop a mass-scale internet surveillance program -- but resorts to more 'old school' surveillance methods."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/czech-republic" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/czech-republic</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Rule of law and human rights continue to be undermined in Hungary, with increasing pressures on the media and civil society, and ongoing discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> reported in 2013 that "Hungary’s parliament moved to increase surveillance of high-level public officials, sparking comments that its reach into the people’s private lives would now be 'total.'”</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/hungary" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/hungary</a></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;">Poland allows massive data retention under state laws. According to Human Rights Watch, "The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2014 that Poland was complicit in the rendition, secret detention, and torture of two terrorism suspects. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture has warned about a significant number of allegations of ill-treatment in police custody."</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/poland" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/poland</a></span></p>

<p></p>

<span style="font-size:13px;font-family:arial, sans, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;color:#1155cc;"><a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/spain" target="_blank">https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/spain</a></span>

Engadget
Threads is testing real-time search results
Threads is testing a new search feature that will allow users to filter results by recency, Adam Mosseri confirmed.
4h ago
Engadget
Rode's $90 MagSafe mount lets you attach pro lights and mics to your iPhone
Rode just released a MagSafe mount for attaching pro lights and microphones to iPhones for video recording. The company also released a phone cage that offers more connection points.
9h ago
Engadget
Disney+ may add cable-style streaming channels focused on Marvel and Star Wars
Disney+ may soon have cable-style channels that stream the likes of Marvel and Star Wars shows and movies 24/7. Disney reportedly sees the channels as a way to help it increase engagement and revenue.
10h ago
Engadget
Samsung awarded $6.4 billion CHIPS Act grant to build 'semiconductor ecosystem' in Texas
The Biden administration has awarded Samsung up to $6.4 billion in grants as part of CHIPS Act funding. This will help the company build out various factories in Texas.
11h ago
Engadget
Watch a recycling machine shake apart old hard drives to recover components
A company called Garner Products has invented a machine that can shake traditional hard drives apart to help recover useful components. The DiskMantler can seemingly dismantle an HDD in as little as eight seconds.
11h ago
Engadget
Meta is shutting down Threads in Turkey following injunction against data-sharing with Instagram
Meta is temporarily shutting down Threads in Turkey on April 29. This follows an injunction against data-sharing with Instagram.
12h ago
Engadget
The Google Pixel 7a is on sale for a new low of $349
Google's Pixel 7a smartphone is on sale for a new low of $349.
12h ago
Engadget
Samsung's new 98-inch Crystal UHD TV is now available
The 98-inch Crystal UHD TV Samsung revealed at CES is now available. This model will run you $4,000 and it uses AI to optimize picture quality.
13h ago
Engadget
Anker power banks and chargers are up to 57 percent off right now
Many of Anker's power banks and chargers are currently on sale through Amazon.
14h ago
Engadget
Adobe previews AI object addition and removal for Premiere Pro
Last year Adobe launched Firefly and now the company is showing how it'll be used its video editing app, Premiere Pro.
15h ago
Engadget
Samsung is once again the leader in global smartphone shipments
Samsung reclaimed the title for most global smartphone shipments from Apple in the first quarter of 2024.
15h ago
Engadget
Tesla halts Cybertruck deliveries due to 'unexpected delay'
Tesla has halted Cybertruck deliveries, telling owners that there has been an "unexpected delay regarding the preparation of your vehicle."
15h ago
Engadget
Tesla is reportedly laying off more than 10 percent of its workforce
According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, Tesla is about to lay off more than 10 percent of its workforce.
15h ago
Engadget
The Morning After: Meta crams its AI chatbot into your Instagram DMs
The biggest news stories this morning: Our favorite Sony wireless earbuds are on sale for a record-low price, Interstellar is coming back to theaters in September for its 10-year anniversary, Playdate revisited: Two years later.
16h ago
Engadget
Google Pixel 9 phones might have emergency satellite messaging
Rumor has it that Google's Pixel 9 and next-gen Fold are getting emergency satellite messaging.
17h ago
Engadget
The best iPad for 2024: How to pick the best Apple tablet for you
Finding the right iPad for you can be complicated. Here, we lay out the differences between each model and dive into everything you need to know before buying a new Apple tablet.
4 months ago
Engadget
Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve 19 arrives with AI-powered motion tracking and color grading
Blackmagic Design released its annual NAB 2024 update and announced over a dozen new products, including its latest editing app DaVinci Resolve 19.
19h ago
Engadget
The best wireless workout headphones for 2024
Get into the zone before a workout by choosing the right pair of wireless workout headphones for you. These are Engadget's favorites.
9 months ago
Engadget
Apple claims Epic is trying to ‘micromanage’ its business operations in a new court filing
Apple is asking a California judge to reject Epic’s request to hold the company in contempt for allegedly violating a 2021 injunction relating to its App Store practices. Apple maintains that it has complied with the injunction.
1d ago
Engadget
The new Blink Mini 2 home security camera is on sale for only $30 right now
The Blink Mini 2 home security camera is 25 percent off in both colors — black and white — in a deal on Amazon, bringing the already budget-friendly system down to just $30. It can be used indoors or outdoors.
2d ago