Why do Meta and Google beat Electronics’ Cy4gate?
Meta and Google point the finger at some Italian companies in the spyware and surveillance systems sector such as Negg Group, Ips Intelligence and Cy4Gate
Here we go again. Just a few days later, the spyware and surveillance systems industry came under the scrutiny of two of the world's digital giants, Google and Meta. Which tell of networks of fake accounts, Trojans disguised as legitimate apps, vulnerabilities exploited to infect the devices of journalists, activists, dissidents and opposition politicians. And they point the finger at some Italian companies in the sector.
CY4GATE, NEGG GROUP AND IPS INTELLIGENCE IN THE FIGHTERS
The names of Cy4Gate, Negg Group and Ips Intelligence, were put in black and white in two reports signed by the cybersecurity departments of Big G and the holding company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
THE PALL MALL PROCESS INITIATIVE
Let's take a step back: fifteen days ago, at Lancaster House, 27 states and international unions, including Italy, France, the United States and the United Kingdom, 14 companies in the digital sector (such as Meta and Microsoft) and 12 non-governmental organizations and universities have signed up to the Pall Mall Process, an international initiative to curb the indiscriminate use of spyware and other online surveillance tools. The finding of illegitimate use of surveillance against “journalists, human rights activists, dissidents and opposition party politicians” can no longer be tolerated.
META HAS REMOVED NETWORK OF FAKE ACCOUNTS ON INSTAGRAM AND FB CONNECTED TO CY4GATE
And here Meta and Google name some Italian companies in the sector. The first is Cy4Gate, listed on the stock exchange, based in Rome. Meta says it has removed a network of fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram allegedly linked to Cy4Gate, with AI-generated images used to gather public information on their targets.
ANOTHER NETWORK CLEARED BY META CONNECTED TO RCS LAB
Rcs Lab , a subsidiary of Cy4Gate founded in 1993 and specialized in software dedicated to the investigative activities of law enforcement agencies, would also have acted in the same vein. Meta says it has taken down a network of fake profiles operating in Italy, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. But Rcs Lab claims that “no artificial intelligence-based product has ever been sold in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Azerbaijan”.
THE ACTIVITIES OF IPS INTELLIGENCE
Then there is Ips Intelligence, founded in Rome three years ago and which is said to have collected information halfway around the world, from Zambia to Mexico via Malta and Oman.
That's all?
KASPERSKY BECCA SPYWARE BY NEGG GROUP
There would also be Negg Group whose spyware was identified in Russia by the cybersecurity group Kaspersky.
NSO GROUP REMEMBER?
Google and Meta also mention the activities of a Spanish group (Variston) and the activities of Nso Group, an Israeli company that developed Pegasus.
The list of spy companies for third parties also involves Greece and the United Arab Emirates. Meta would be a guardian angel of computer security, he watches over us and sends a specific message when he suspects that a person is the victim of espionage activities.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL EU ALLIANCE AGAINST SPYWARE
The decision of European governments to launch an intergovernmental alliance against spyware conflicts with the fact that it is the governments themselves that are the largest buyers of these governments.
And perhaps it is also at odds with Meta and Google which, in order to be able to control those who spy, necessarily develop systems to spy in turn.
LIGHTHOUSE ON THE ABUSE OF SPY SOFTWARE
Perhaps the European election campaign can shine a light on the abuses connected to these tools. But the opposite reasoning is also valid: the election season that will bring half the world's population to the polls in 2024 may increase the use of digital surveillance.
US INTEREST IN SURVEILLANCE
The interest in surveillance is specific to the States: imagining that they become the guardians of the surveillance of others means imagining a world that does not exist or at least does not yet exist.
Article published on infosec.news
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-meta-e-google-picchiano-cy4gate-di-elettronica/ on Sun, 25 Feb 2024 06:11:10 +0000.