Governments in the Middle East and elsewhere are investing in spyware, sometimes to use against their own citizens:
On June 24th Citizen Lab, a Toronto-based cyberspace security outfit, said it had detected specialized spyware being used in Saudi Arabia – the first time it has seen such sophisticated software in that country. (The Saudi authorities have not responded to these allegations).
The software, known as a remote control device (RCS), can hack into mobile phones, giving the government access to all the user’s information – what he or she has looked at or written online and the call history, for example. Unlike basic surveillance software, the RCS can also transform the device into a monitoring tool by switching on and controlling the camera and microphone, without the user noticing. … Until recently such technology was only used by governments with a long history of expertise in spying, such as Russia, says Bill Marczak of Bahrain Watch, an NGO that monitors human-rights violations in Bahrain. “Now any government that is willing to spend several hundred thousand dollars can acquire these hacking tools and get the training they need,” says Cynthia Wong, who researches internet violations for Human Rights Watch. That leaves activists more exposed than ever.
The spyware was apparently bundled with “Qatif Today,” a legitimate news app. Some 60 countries are reportedly using what Citizen Lab describes as “malware sold to governments.”
The Dish 