The Irish government is set to investigate a digital surveillance alliance that has been accused of letting its smartphone spyware "Run wild across the world", BBC News NI understands. It comes after Intellexa Limited and its parent company Thalestris were named in a damning report by a leading human rights body. According to Amnesty International, Predator is "Invasive sypyware" that has been used in "Brazen" attempted hacking attacks against politicians and journalists. It can be used to turn a smartphone into a surveillance tool and has serious "Human rights implications", Amnesty said. The report has called on the Irish government, and others, to investigate and increase regulation on spyware firms. The alliance, Amnesty said, was "a complex and often changing group of companies", which advertised itself as "EU-based and regulated", but had "Done nothing to limit who is able to use this spyware and for what purpose". In July, US officials placed Intellexa on a blacklist, external after determining its surveillance tools posed a threat to national security and foreign policy. The Dublin-registered Intellexa office was set up in 2019, according to a European Parliament briefing paper. Amnesty's report called on Irish and other European governments to "Immediately revoke all marketing and export licences issued to the Intellexa alliance". DETE said "While the company in question is an Irish registered company", it has not applied for a license for export authorisation. Neither government department would respond to direct claims or further recommendations found in the report, citing the nature of any such investigation would be deemed sensitive. A new report from the human rights body, in partnership with European Investigative Collaborations, claims the software has been used in "Zero-click attacks" - meaning it can infiltrate a device without the user having clicked on a link. "Intellexa alliance's products have been found in at least 25 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and have been used to undermine human rights, press freedom, and social movements across the globe." Multiple companies linked to Intellexa have been asked by the BBC for comment on the report's findings, but none of them have responded. Intellexa Ltd is part of a complex international web of companies either fully or partly controlled by the Israeli businessman Tal Dilian. On his website, Mr Dilian said Intellexa "Developed and integrated technologies empowering law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies to collect and analyse data in the most advanced methods". Greece wiretap and spyware claims circle around PM. Intellexa has also been criticised in Ireland by European Parliament member Barry Andrews, who asked the Oireachtas Justice Committee in August to investigate the firm. "I completely agree with the report by Amnesty International and applaud the work that they have done here - and, of course, I agree completely with the report, especially when it says that spyware is fundamentally incompatible with human rights," Mr Andrews told BBC News NI. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. End of twitter post by Barry Andrews MEP. The Fianna Fáil politican added: "I believe that the Irish government are beginning to take this seriously... I look forward to engaging with the justice committee on this as soon as it is on their agenda and I feel it should be much sooner rather than any later." Amnesty International said it had also reached out to the entities involved, but received no response, while the European Investigative Collaborations network did hear from the main shareholders of the Nexa Group - part of the Intellexa Alliance.
This Cyber News was published on www.bbc.com. Publication date: Thu, 30 Nov 2023 23:19:27 +0000