Australian law enforcement agencies discussed deals with Hacking Team for smartphone spy software
AUSTRALIAN law enforcement agencies paid big bucks for invasive, Big Brother-style smartphone spy software that can eavesdrop on conversations.
AUSTRALIAN law enforcement agencies have been caught discussing deals with a notorious spyware firm responsible for installing intrusive programs on smartphones that engage their microphones to eavesdrop on conversations.
Spy agency ASIO, the Australian Federal Police, and Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog IBAC were named in a raft of leaked emails published by Wikileaks, with invoices indicating one agency may have paid the firm more than $300,000 for spy software.
The correspondence emerged after the Italian surveillance firm Hacking Team, previously investigated by the United Nations, revealed it had been hacked itself last Sunday.
The company, which created and sold its Remote Control System (RCS) Galileo software to government agencies, revealed more than 400 gigabytes of correspondence, contracts and code was taken in the hack, and its invasive software could now be used against any target.
“Terrorists, extortionists and others can deploy this technology at will if they have the technical ability to do so,” spokesman Eric Rabe said in a statement.
“We believe this is an extremely dangerous situation.”
But before the software and correspondence was stolen, the Australian Federal Police appears to have paid Hacking Team for its services, receiving two invoices from the firm in 2009 and 2010 for a total of 245,000 euros (AU$363,000).
A third bill for an additional 49,000 euros (AU$72,000) was declined by an AFP representative, who wrote “the AFP no longer has a need for the capability you provide”.
In a statement, the AFP said it “does not confirm or deny what may or may not form part of its operational or technical methodologies”.
Other Wikileaks emails stated ASIO was an “interested” customer for Hacking Team technology, according to Canberra IT firm Criterion Solutions.
Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) was also named in the Wikileaks documents, with arrangements made for a demonstration of Hacking Team technology in May this year, and discussions about a $500,000 contract for the technology held just last month.
Despite the apparent Australian link to the firm’s technology, the United Nations had investigated Hacking Team for supplying intrusion software to Sudan against its sanctions.
Wikileaks emails indicate the company initially stonewalled attempts by the UN to uncover its deals with the Sudanese government despite its commercial relationship, and later accused the UN of harming the company’s reputation.
The company’s spy software, RCS Galileo, was designed to “attack, infect and monitor target PCs and smartphones in a stealth way,” according to the leaked emails, and could be installed on Windows or Mac machines, as well as Apple, Google, Nokia and BlackBerry smartphones.
The software could record keystrokes, eavesdrop on Skype discussions, and even employ a phone’s microphone to record nearby conversations, according to its makers.
Other Hacking Team government clients include agencies from the United States, Bahrain, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Syria.
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