Privacy International Files Criminal Complaint Against FinFisher Spyware Company

from the accessories-and-abettors dept

Techdirt has been reporting on the disturbing rise in the use of malware by governments around the world to spy on citizens. One name that keeps cropping up in this context is the FinFisher suite of spyware products from the British company Gamma. Its code was discovered masquerading as a Malay-language version of Mozilla Firefox, and is now at the center of a complaint filed in the UK:

Privacy International today has made a criminal complaint to the National Cyber Crime Unit of the National Crime Agency, urging the immediate investigation of the unlawful surveillance of three Bahraini activists living in the UK by Bahraini authorities using the intrusive malware FinFisher supplied by British company Gamma.
Here's why Privacy International is acting now:
While it's long been known that Gamma has provided surveillance capabilities to Bahrain, amongst other countries, the extent of Gamma's complicity in Bahrain's unlawful surveillance of individuals located abroad has only recently been confirmed. Two months ago, a number of internal Gamma documents were published revealing that Gamma is both aware of, and actively facilitating, the Bahraini regime's surveillance of targets located outside Bahrain through the provision of intrusion technology called FinFisher to the Bahraini authorities.

The analysis by Bahrain Watch clearly shows that, amongst the Gamma documents published online, those targeted by the Bahraini government with FinFisher technology were [the activists] Mohammed, Jaafar, and Saeed, along with prominent Bahraini opposition politicians, democracy activists and human rights lawyers.
Privacy International believes that this alleged surveillance of Bahraini activists while in the UK constitutes an unlawful interception of communications under the UK's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 -- the infamous RIPA -- and further argues that Gamma is "liable as an accessory under the Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 and/or encouraged and assisted the offence under the Serious Crime Act 2007." If this reasoning is accepted, it could create an important precedent, at least in the UK.

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Filed Under: activists, bahrain, finfisher, human rights, privacy, surveillance
Companies: gamma, privacy international


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  • icon
    tqk (profile), 14 Oct 2014 @ 10:01pm

    Mwah, ha, ha, ha, haaaa!

    Perfidious Albion, reap what you sow! That's feces hitting the rotational air movement appliance, don't you know? Holmes and Watson would be appalled that their gov't was allowing its citizens to stoop so low then try to get away with it.

    Watson, the game's afoot!

    How could FinFisher think this was a good thing for the company to be involved in? I hope the owner goes to "gaol" for this "indiscretion" on their part. fsckin' idiots. Rot in "some very uncomfortable (cold, dark, dangerous) prison" until you scream for mercy.

    "Brits" ought to know better. Yes, I hold them to a higher standard than others! They've trumpeted their superiority since the Magna Carta, yet look at them today. Disgusting.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2014 @ 4:42am

    Are there any blog sites etc that cover the same sort of content Techdirt covers but mainly for the UK?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2014 @ 9:13am

    'If this reasoning is accepted, it could create an important precedent, at least in the UK'

    here's hoping!!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Whoever, 15 Oct 2014 @ 11:09am

    'If this reasoning is accepted, it could create an important precedent, at least in the UK'

    In the UK, anyone can initiate criminal proceedings. Privacy International doesn't have to wait for their complaint to be accepted.

    Of course, it is better to have the authorities act on the complaint, rather than initiating a private prosecution, but if not accepted, Privacy International should hire a good lawyer and get started.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2014 @ 12:00pm

    But we only sold them tools , we had no idea that they were going to use spying tools ,to spy.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2014 @ 2:04pm

    Looks like its name-changing time for GAMMA.
    Disappear for a month and re-appear as Epsilon Inc.
    Yep. That should do it.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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