How Little We Know About Spyware Makers' Government Ties
In a recent report, we looked into NSO’s lobbying efforts and how these provide a stark case study of how spyware firms deploy vast resources to influence government and democratic decision-making in pursuit of their commercial interests.
However, NSO is not alone. A number of other commercial spyware companies – including Paragon Solutions, Candiru/Saito Tech and the Intellexa Alliance – have sought to influence government in recent years by hiring lobbying, law and PR firms and other external consultants.
These consultants have attempted to reverse trade restrictions, lift visa bans, advise on US and European market strategies, and assist in formulating spyware companies’ human rights policies. In this second ‘spyware lobbying’ installment, we take a closer look at this activity.
Related Knowledge Center: Digital privacy and data security
If you’re online, you’re generating a constant stream of information about yourself — sometimes voluntarily, sometimes unwittingly — that is assembled and used to craft your online experience. And generate wealth for data brokers. Meanwhile, designers and managers of the digital infrastructure on which the world depends are engaged in a never-ending effort to thwart attempts, by both criminal enterprises and state actors, to exploit vulnerabilities in those systems.
Signalgate | State surveillance
Related Knowledge Center: State surveillance
While government monitoring of personal digital communications has traditionally been associated with authoritarian regimes such as China, the Trump regime has moved to use citizens’ personal information in unprecedented ways.
Digital privacy and data security | FISA — Section 702