• Home
  • Politics
  • News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Opinion
Friday, 16 May, 2025
  • Login
Top Radio 103.1 FM
 
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Technology
  • Foreign
No Result
View All Result
Top Radio 103.1 FM
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

Facebook exposes mercenary spy firms that targeted 50,000 people

TOPFM NEWS by TOPFM NEWS
December 17, 2021
in Technology
A A
0
Facebook exposes mercenary spy firms that targeted 50,000 people
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) is calling out half a dozen private surveillance companies for hacking or other abuses, accusing them in a report published Thursday of collectively targeting about 50,000 people across its platforms.

The company’s fight with the spy firms comes amid a wider move by American tech companies, U.S. lawmakers and President Joe Biden’s administration against purveyors of digital espionage services, notably the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, which was blacklisted earlier this month following weeks of revelations about how its technology was being deployed against civil society.

Meta is already suing NSO in a U.S. court. Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta’s head of security policy, told Reuters that Thursday’s crackdown was meant to signal that “the surveillance-for-hire industry is much broader than one company.”

Meta’s report said it was suspending roughly 1,500, mostly fake accounts run by seven organizations across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta said the entities targeted people in more than 100 countries.

Meta did not provide a detailed explanation of how it identified the surveillance firms, but it operates some of the world’s biggest social and communications networks and regularly touts its ability to find and remove malicious actors from its platforms.

Among them is Israel’s Black Cube, which became notorious for deploying its spies on behalf of Hollywood rapist Harvey Weinstein. Meta said the intelligence firm was deploying phantom personas to chat its targets up online and gather their emails, “likely for later phishing attacks.”

In a statement, Black Cube said it “does not undertake any phishing or hacking” and said the firm routinely ensured “all our agents’ activities are fully compliant with local laws.”

Others called out by Meta include BellTroX, an Indian cyber mercenary firm exposed by Reuters and the internet watchdog Citizen Lab last year, an Israeli company called Bluehawk CI, and a European firm named Cytrox – all of whom Meta accused of hacking.

Cognyte (CGNT.O), which was spun off from security giant Verint Systems Inc (VRNT.O) in February, and Israeli firms Cobwebs Technologies were accused not of hacking but of using fake profiles to trick people into revealing private data.

Cognyte, Verint and Bluehawk did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

In an email, Cobwebs spokesperson Meital Levi Tal said the company drew on open sources and that its products “are not intrusive by any means.” Messages left with Ivo Malinovski – who until recently identified himself as Cytrox’s chief executive on LinkedIn – received no immediate response. BellTroX founder Sumit Gupta has not returned Reuters reporters’ messages since his firm was exposed last year. He had previously denied wrongdoing.

Gleicher refused to identify any of the targets by name but Citizen Lab, in a report published at the same time as Meta’s, said that one of Cytrox’s victims was Egyptian opposition figure Ayman Nour.

Nour blamed the Egyptian government for the spying, telling Reuters in an interview from Istanbul that he had long suspected he was under surveillance by officials there.

“For the first time I have evidence,” he said.

Egyptian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gleicher said other targets of the spy firms included celebrities, politicians, journalists, lawyers, executives and regular citizens. Friends and family of the targets were also swept up in the espionage campaigns, he said.

Meta cybersecurity official David Agranovich said he hoped Thursday’s announcement would “kickstart the disruption of the surveillance-for-hire market.” There were some signs that other social media firms were taking similar action, with Twitter announcing the removal of 300 accounts a few hours after Meta’s announcement.

Whether the takedowns deal the companies involved more than a temporary setback remains to be seen. Two of the companies, Black Cube and BellTroX, have bounced back after being embroiled in previous spy scandals.

Gleicher said that targets of the spy firms would receive automated warnings, but he said Facebook would stop short of identifying the specific firms involved or their clients. That’s despite the fact that Facebook said it had identified several customers of Cobwebs, Cognyte, Cytrox, and Black Cube – the latter of which includes law firms.

Marta Pardavi, one of several Hungarian human rights defenders who say they were targeted by Black Cube in 2017 and 2018, said she was gratified by the news of Facebook’s report but wanted more information.

“They name law firms,” she said. “But law firms have clients. Who are the clients for these law firms?”

Related Posts

Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales

Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales

December 26, 2024 - Updated on December 28, 2024
41
Ghana leads four other African countries to sign SATA declaration on data and digital identity interoperability

Ghana leads four other African countries to sign SATA declaration on data and digital identity interoperability

April 27, 2023
7
Source: Raphael Satter and Elizabeth Culliford
Via: Reuters
Tags: facebookmercenaryspy
Previous Post

South Korea to use AI facial recognition to track COVID-19 patients

Next Post

Apple Reportedly Wants to Make All Of Its Own Chips

Related Posts

Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales
News

Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales

December 26, 2024 - Updated on December 28, 2024
41
Ghana leads four other African countries to sign SATA declaration on data and digital identity interoperability
Technology

Ghana leads four other African countries to sign SATA declaration on data and digital identity interoperability

April 27, 2023
7
TikTok launches an elections hub in Kenya ahead of General Elections
Technology

TikTok launches an elections hub in Kenya ahead of General Elections

July 15, 2022
15
Facebook to allow up to five profiles tied to one account
Technology

Facebook to allow up to five profiles tied to one account

July 15, 2022
15
Microsoft releases tweet-size exploit for macOS sandbox escape bug
Technology

Microsoft releases tweet-size exploit for macOS sandbox escape bug

July 14, 2022
14
Final Android 13 beta arrives ahead of its official launch ‘in the weeks ahead’
Technology

Final Android 13 beta arrives ahead of its official launch ‘in the weeks ahead’

July 14, 2022
9
Next Post
Apple Reportedly Wants to Make All Of Its Own Chips

Apple Reportedly Wants to Make All Of Its Own Chips

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Foreign
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2022 Budget AFCON Afghanistan akufo addo Amazon Apiate explosion apple AT&T Ato Forson Black Stars covid COVID-19 COVID 19 E-Levy facebook GFA Ghana Police Service Google Government GRA health Intel iphone LGBTQ Mahama Majority Microsoft Minority momo NDC NPP Nvidia OMICRON Parliament police Russia security Taliban tech Tesla US UTAG vaccine vaccines Xinjiang

Recent Posts

  • Ex US President Jimmy Carter Passes On
  • VIP Bus – Four Confirmed Dead
  • BoxingDay on the streets of Accra by Top Media Group
  • Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales
  • Akufo-Addo leads team to present brand-new car to GHS outstanding health officer for 2024

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

RECENT NEWS

  • Ex US President Jimmy Carter Passes On December 30, 2024
  • VIP Bus – Four Confirmed Dead December 28, 2024
  • BoxingDay on the streets of Accra by Top Media Group December 28, 2024
  • Toyota global production down for 10th month despite rising sales December 26, 2024

MAIN CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Foreign
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized

Entertainment

Government approves GH¢4m to clear Korle-Bu renal unit’s debt
Health

Government approves GH¢4m to clear Korle-Bu renal unit’s debt

2 years ago
19
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

© 2025 Top Media Group - Powered by BackUP Data Systems

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Opinion

© 2025 Top Media Group - Powered by BackUP Data Systems

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In