Spyware Becomes More Popular Among Governments Catalin Cimpanu - Softpedia
go to original October 18, 2015

FinFisher, a piece of spyware sold to governments by a German security vendor, has been linked by recent research to at least 32 governments around the world, more than ever before.

Citizen Lab, a research department at the University of Toronto, has been studying the usage of FinFisher among government agencies for the past years.

The spyware, developed by FinFisher GmbH, a German security company in the same realm as Italy's Hacking Team, has been selectively sold to government agencies to help with law enforcement investigations.

This doesn't mean that governments used it for true and valid reasons alone, and many states, like Ethiopia and Bahrain, were previously caught utilizing it to deter and keep dissidents in check.

...According to their research, there are currently 32 countries that deploy FinFisher spyware, more than ever before. In total, Citizen Lab observed 135 FinFisher instances, a mix of both relays and master servers.

The 32 countries that deploy FinFisher spyware are: Angola, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Paraguay, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and South Africa.

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