BolivarTech News

BolivarTech News

Technology Evolution and Trends

BolivarTech News
  • About
  • License

Now ‘iSpyU’ business is outsourcing

  • Security

CellPhone.pngFrom unmemorable times always the governments have trying to collect intelligence information about people problematic for them within same folks. But this always was an “in house business” where the own government develop itself tools and procedures to accomplish the task; until now when the ‘iSpyU’ business can be outsourced by anyone thanks to products like the FinFisher Suite.

FinFisher is a remote intrusion and surveillance software developed by Munich-based Gamma International GmbH and marketed and sold exclusively to law enforcement and intelligence agencies by the UK-based Gamma Group.

FinFisher
FinFisher is sold as a “lawful interception” suite for monitoring criminals, but it has gained notoriety because it has been used by repressive governments in targeted attacks against human rights campaigners and opposition activists in countries with questionable human rights records like Bahraini, Ethiopia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, etc.

The major information about FinFisher came from The Citizen LabFinFisher_Proxy that is a laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Canada and it focus on advanced research and development at the intersection of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), human rights, and global security.

As information leaked and collected from the deep web “Spy your opponents” is not cheap, and the suggested “tag price” for FinFisher products (including a full set of attack software, booby-trapped thumb drives and nearly a dozen different training courses) retailed for some 3.5 million dollars (3 million Euros)Schema.png

FinFisher provide the follow spy feature on target devices (computers, cellphones):

  • Bypassing of 40 regularly tested Antivirus Systems
  • Covert Communication with Headquarters
  • Full communications monitoring (Calls, Video, Contact List, etc.)
  • Recording of common communication like Email, Chats, Voice-over-IP, WhatsApp, Skype, SMS, Chats, File Transfers, etc.
  • Live Surveillance through inbuilt camera and microphone
  • Country Tracing of Target
  • Silent extracting of Files from device
  • Process-based Key-logger for faster analysis
  • Live Remote Forensics on Target System
  • Advanced Filters to record only important information
  • Supports most common Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows Phone)

For me as security specialist is curious ear how competitors propose to avoid this kind of surveillance focus to use encryption software, when the target device is compromised at the level to allow key-logger capabilities to capture what the user is typing from the source and file transfers directly from devices, any kind of encryption are useless because it is to protect against transmission media taped not compromised terminals.

To mitigate this kind of surveillance the only choices available is be very careful about software installed in your terminals because you can’t trust on your antivirus because can be easy bypassed; other more radical countermeasures are available for human rights campaigners and opposition activists who know that can be targets from oppressive governments.

Julian Bolivar-Galeno is an Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Architect whose expertise is in telecommunications, security and embedded systems. He works in BolivarTech focused on decision making, leadership, management and execution of projects oriented to develop strong security algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) research and its applicability to smart solutions at mobile and embedded technologies, always producing resilient and innovative applications.

FinFisher FinSpy Gamma key-logger proxy
2016-02-22 Julian Bolivar

Post navigation

Malfeasance by Cheatware → ← Hackers can be a Threat to Islamic State?

Related Posts

Encryption Is Foundational to The Future (Part 4 The Reign of the Electro-Mechanical Cyphers)

After the Word War II and during the Cold War, the security in sensitive communications was ruled by Electro-Mechanical Cyphers. Until the 1950’s the WWII the ECM Mark II was […]

Encryption Is Foundational to The Future (Part 3 The Begin of the Technological Age)

The first world war showed the importance of cryptography on the battlefield, and the danger of weak encryption. The second world war became a defining moment in the history of […]

Encryption Is Foundational to The Future (Part 2 The Century of Huge Advances)

The 20th century was marked by huge advances in all the humanity areas, and the cryptography not was the exception. At the begin of the 20th century, cryptography was a […]

Credit Card numbers or IMEI in Java (Luhn Algorithm)

In order to validate large numbers like credit card and International Mobile System Equipment Identity (IMEI) in every smartphone or tablet over the planet is used the Luhn Algorithm; in […]

Recent Posts

Embedded AI and Tiny Data

Right now we are living Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom bubble, where you can look the big progress that has been cooking in the labs for more than 30 years, some […]

More Info

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

More Info

Free Windows 10 Upgrade Finish Today

Today June 29, 2016 is the last day when you can apply the Windows 10 Upgrade from the eligible platforms, and the next August 2 is expected the Window 10 […]

More Info

The Artificial Intelligence is not Voodoo

The people in general demonize the things they do not understand, this is something that is happening from the beginning of the times. For example, before was the vaccines, organ […]

More Info
Powered by WordPress | theme SG Simple
Posting....