The Israeli branch of U.S.-based Verint Systems Inc. provided the South Sudanese government with surveillance equipment to intercept communications devices, although the country has a long history of human rights violations, and despite the high risk that it posed to continuing those abuses, said a report published by Amnesty International on Tuesday.
The human rights monitoring organization’s report revealed new information about South Sudan’s surveillance capabilities as well as the role of companies whose technologies can intercept communications such as citizens’ telephone lines without legal permission.
South Sudan is known for its blatant human rights violations and strict military control, an armed soldier walks past (pictured). Photo: Shutterstock
Notable Facts:
Former General Partner at Google Ventures
Founder of blog site VC Cafe and of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling
Raised $35 million for Remagine fund from the likes of Sky and Axel Springer Eze Vidra. Photo: Orel Cohen
A former general partner at Google Ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google s first physical hub for startups, Eze Vidra is now becoming one of the people every early-stage gaming entrepreneur in Israel is trying to impress.
Vidra and Kevin Baxpehler, the former head of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE’s Israel investment office, launched Tel Aviv-based venture capital fund Remagine Media Ventures LP in May 2018. In September 2018, London-headquartered media and telecommunications company Sky PLC announced a $4 million commitment to the fund, and last September, Remagine completed the raising of an additional $31 million from entertainment industry
Coalition of human rights groups join suit against Israeli firm NSO
The amicus or friend of the court brief, filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, adds weight to the legal battle between Facebook and NSO, which began in October 2019
Reuters |
Updated: 12.24.20 , 07:22
A coalition of human rights groups on Wednesday joined Facebook’s lawsuit against Israeli spyware vendor NSO, alleging that the company “prioritizes profit to the detriment of human rights.
”The organizations - including internet rights group Access Now, London-based Amnesty International, and the Committee to Protect Journalists - filed an amicus or “friend of the court” brief in support of Facebook’s fight against NSO, which the social media giant accuses of having subverted its WhatsApp instant messaging service to hack into the phones of human rights activists and dissidents worldwide.
Tech giants join Facebook legal fight against Israel s NSO
Google, Microsoft, Dell and Cisco seek to challenge controversial Israel-based spytech firm s claim of immunity from lawsuits, say its powerful and dangerous technology can fall into the wrong hands
i24NEWS |
Published: 12.22.20 , 22:53
Israeli spyware firm NSO is facing a legal fight against some extremely powerful tech adversaries - including Google, Microsoft, Cisco and Dell - after they joined Facebook in filing a brief in a U.S. court accusing it of having powerful and dangerous technology.
According to The Times of Israel, in 2019, WhatsApp and its parent company, Facebook, filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the NSO Group, accusing the firm of targeting some 1,400 users of its encrypted messaging service with highly sophisticated spyware through missed calls. The accounts said to have been targeted include those of senior government officials, journalists and human rights activists worldwide.
Report: Saudi Arabia, UAE used NSO to target phones of Al-Jazeera reporters
Watchdog says reporters for Qatari state-owned media company were targeted in an attack attributed to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi using spyware belonging to Israeli technology firm
Associated Press |
Updated: 12.20.20 , 23:32
Dozens of journalists at Al-Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned media company, have been targeted by advanced spyware in an attack likely linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a cybersecurity watchdog reported on Sunday.
Citizen Lab said it traced malware that infected the personal phones of 36 journalists, producers, anchors and executives at Al-Jazeera back to the Israel-based NSO Group, which has been widely condemned for selling spyware to repressive governments.