Israeli company developed and sold spy system to foreign countries, including in the Gulf region
Jerusalem, Indonesianpost.com – A cyber company from Israel has successfully developed a spy system that has been exported to foreign countries, including in the Gulf region, according to a Hebrew newspaper report. The Haaretz newspaper said that the company was not well-known before the unusual announcement by the security unit “Malmab” last February, which stated that it was investigating the company and its managers.
The company develops and sells programs to monitor mobile phone locations and user activities on the internet as well as access communication data on phones. Allegations against the company are related to violations of security export supervision laws and customs decisions as well as “obtaining something by deception.”
According to the allegations, the company marketed and exported cyber products that require supervision to a number of countries at various events, all of which were illegal and without permission from the defense ministry. The newspaper indicated that the announcement was highly unusual for the defense ministry, which usually does not announce investigations into alleged violations of security export laws.
According to company records, “NFV” was founded in 2015 and is based in the city of Kfar Saba, Israel. The company’s shares are owned by a woman named Afghar Noked who has patents in wireless communication.
The Israeli Military Unit and the Security Export Department are investigating the company, as well as her husband, David Shaul, and former employees of another technology company founded by Shaul, for allegedly violating security export supervision laws and violating provisions that could harm national security.
The authorities seized computer systems belonging to “NFV” when they were being shipped to customers abroad. They thought the product did not require an export license because it was not covered by the export license issued by the Ministry of Defense.
Shaul also owns shares in another company called “Web Guard Technology” which issues mobile monitoring and tracking systems for intelligence and law enforcement agencies worldwide.
During the investigation, the “Military Investigation Unit” seized computers and phones from the company and the suspects but initially had difficulty cracking them and retrieving the content needed for the investigation.
Unlike other Israeli cyber-attack companies such as NSO, “Fragoone,” and “Quadream,” NFV is unknown and there is no information about its products or sales. Internal documents obtained by the newspaper are from several years ago and reveal what the company sold, but its spying capabilities may have since developed.
The documents reveal that the company has sold software to foreign countries to monitor target locations by recognizing the SIM numbers on the target’s phone and tracking the cellular network. The software can provide alerts when a target enters or exits a particular country or area that has been specified beforehand. According to the company, location identification is assisted by geographical information obtained from social networks.
The sale of tracking capabilities is being conducted by connecting the NFV system to the internet and mobile phone companies in customer countries. This connection provides users of the system with detailed monitoring information about users and allows tracking of cellular and internet communications of targets, both in real-time and historically, as well as viewing search history and other activities of the target and building behavioral profiles.
According to the documents, customers can access encrypted messaging applications for targets and track target accounts on social networks. However, it is unclear what type of application is meant and what access is available.
Source: Arabi21 | Okenesia.com