A decision by the Swiss Supreme Court has revealed an ongoing investigation by the 🇨🇭 Office of the Attorney General into exports of #spyware to various countries in breach of Swiss export control laws. The investigation relates to the company Thalestris Switzerland. www.lexology.com/library/deta...

Spyware vendors mapped 🌐worldwide. A new 🇸🇪 @sipri.org report reviews sanctions & export controls on #spyware and other cyber-surveillance tools — with an interactive map of vendors active in August 2025. ➡️ Map: www.sipri.org/visualizatio... ➡️ Full report: www.sipri.org/sites/defaul...

Some really good sessions here if you’re interested in states’ use and regulation of commercial #spyware. 👇👇👇

“In Pakistan, surveillance is part of the cost of being a journalist” www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ca...

⚠️ The trial of four company executives linked to Greece’s Predator spyware scandal was adjourned until October 22, after a defense lawyer asked for time to examine an encrypted document from the Hellenic Data Protection Authority. www.ekathimerini.com/news/1281833...

Greek government denies any involvement with #Predator spyware scandal, but it has scuppered all efforts to shed light on it and its fingerprints are all over it. Still one case is going forward in court today. Spyware is used to silence critics and eliminate scrutiny @kostaskallergis.bsky.social

No government officials have been charged in court & critics accuse the 🇬🇷govt of a cover-up. A low-ranking judge will hear the case against 2 Israelis & 2 Greeks, allegedly involved with marketing Predator, write @kkoukoumakas.bsky.social @kostaskallergis.bsky.social. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Spyware vendors mapped 🌐worldwide. A new 🇸🇪 @sipri.org report reviews sanctions & export controls on #spyware and other cyber-surveillance tools — with an interactive map of vendors active in August 2025. ➡️ Map: www.sipri.org/visualizatio... ➡️ Full report: www.sipri.org/sites/defaul...

The 🇺🇸Secret Service said that it disrupted a network of electronic devices in the New York City area that posed imminent telecommunications-based threats to US government officials & potentially the 🇺🇳UN General Assembly meeting, writes @timstarks.bsky.social. cyberscoop.com/secret-servi...

⚠️ @404media.co has filed a lawsuit against 🇺🇸ICE for access to its contract with #Paragon, a company that sells powerful #spyware for breaking into phones and accessing encrypted messaging apps. www.404media.co/were-suing-i...

NEW: EU cybersecurity agency ENISA says the airport disruptions across Europe this weekend were caused by a ransomware attack. The attack targeted Collins Aerospace and its check-in system called Muse. techcrunch.com/2025/09/22/e...

A 🇪🇸Barcelona judge has decided to investigate for the first time two fmr Civil Guard directors for spying on the independence movement using Pegasus.The complaint is also vs. the National Intel. Service in this particular espionage case & against executives of NSO Group. en.ara.cat/politics/jud...

Last year 🇮🇪 Irish national police made payments totalling €278,000 to Israeli surveillance vendor Cognyte. It is not known exactly what was bought or what it will be used for, writes @berniceharrison.bsky.social in the @irishtimes.com. www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/in-...

There is a lot of demand for digital privacy and security advice out there right now and lots of people are giving advice and writing guides. I beg them to do a few things: 1. Be explicit about the threat model your advice is meant for.

ICE has a new contract with Magnet for its mobile forensic extraction tool Graykey techcrunch.com/2025/09/18/i... For travellers entering the US 🇺🇸, be prepared for possible device seizures. I spoke about this to CBC The Current @mattgalloway.bsky.social a while back here: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Europe's spyware ecosystem is strong, despite all the scandals and the fact that it has harbored notorious and controversial spyware makers. Very interesting article here.

Join CDT Europe’s team! 🌍✨ We’re #hiring our next Policy & Research Officer for the Security, Surveillance & Human Rights programme based in Brussels. 👁️ Are you passionate about EU tech policy, and an expert in #spyware & #encryption issues? This might be the right position for you! 👇🏻

🚨NEW🚨 ICE this week spent $2m for social media surveillance tech called Tangles. Created by an Israeli company called Cobwebs, it was banned by Meta for targeting activists across Facebook and WhatsApp in 2021. Now owned by PenLink, an ICE go-to surveillance vendor. www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...

🇺🇸US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement arm Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has signed a contract worth $3m with Magnet Forensics, a company that makes a phone-hacking & unlocking device called Graykey, writes @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2025/09/18/i...

⚠️ @reporter-ohne-grenzen.de is taking 🇩🇪Federal Intelligence Service's use of #spyware to ⚖️ @echr.coe.int. RSF argues that spyware violates journalists’ rights in an inadmissible way & German law makes it too hard to fight surveillance by intel. agencies. www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/pressemittei...

⚠️Révélation accablante Utilisation de fonds 🇪🇺 pour financer des compagnies d'espionnage privées La Commission européenne refuse de réguler et utilise votre argent pour vous espionner illégalement La CE doit rendre des comptes www.ftm.eu/articles/spyware-industry-eu-subsidies-surveillance-concers

A few (early) thoughts on digital transnational repression and extraterritorial human rights obligations over at @bindinghook.bsky.social. Thanks for the opportunity to share my research (again!).

“…millions in EU subsidies and taxpayer money in member states are supporting an industry criticised for undermining democracy and freedom of speech”. www.ftm.eu/articles/spy...

Spyware industry pockets EU subsidies while snooping on its citizens www.ftm.eu/articles/spy... Great work by @vaspanagiotopoulos.com showing how EU taxpayer money funds a surveillance industry that sells to authoritarian regimes abroad.

🚨🇪🇺 EU cash💰 and taxpayer money in countries such as 🇮🇹Italy and 🇪🇸Spain are flowing to commercial #spyware firms, yet this public funding is not well-known or analysed. 🧵My investigation for @ftm.eu. 👇👇👇 www.ftm.eu/articles/spy...

Proton Mail suspended the account of a journalist writing for the hacker zine Phrack at the request of a cybersecurity agency, only reinstating the account after public outcry theintercept.com/2025/09/12/p...

The statute of limitations is about to expire on a dozen Pegasus cases targeting 🇪🇸Catalan independence figures. Most infections occurred in 2019-20 & the offence of revealing secrets carries a 5-year limitation period. Many investigations could lapse this October. www.elnacional.cat/ca/editorial...

Apple revealed a new security technology for its latest iPhone 17 and iPhone Air devices this week made specifically to fight against #surveillance vendors and the types of vulnerabilities they rely on the most, writes @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2025/09/11/a...

Digital freedoms advocates worldwide are alarmed by a Swiss government plan requiring service providers to get user ID at sign up, retain data for 6 months. The law, still under debate, also would require decryption. Proton moving infrastructure out of the country therecord.media/switzerland-...

🇫🇷France’s national cybersecurity response unit said on Thursday that it was aware that Apple on September 3 sent a new notification to affected customers whose Apple devices may have been hacked, writes @zackwhittaker.com. techcrunch.com/2025/09/11/f...

There is limited public awareness that some of the 💰money spent on #spyware may ultimately come from ordinary citizens’ own pockets. In the case of AE Industrial Partners, investment performance reports show that the firm was backed by several 🇺🇸US pension funds. My latest for @wired.com.

US investors in spyware companies nearly tripled in 2024 w/ 31 firms now bankrolling the manufacturers, per new Atlantic Council report. Examples include Integrity Partners, which recently invested in Candiru manufacturer despite company appearing on the Entity List. therecord.media/us-investors...

NEW: A report published by the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social finds that US investors are increasingly funding companies that make commercial spyware, a technology linked to human rights abuses in countries around the world. @vaspanagiotopoulos.com reports for @wired.com www.wired.com/story/us-spy...

The system, a five-year effort to address memory safety “at scale,” is the result of spyware developers making zero-click exploits that targeted a device’s memory. via @gregotto.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/apple-memory...

NEW: Spyware installed on Kenyan filmmakers' phones in police custody @citizenlab.ca confirms cpj.org?p=516177

Powerful interests are trying to change the internet. It's worse than you know. Your safety and freedoms are on the line. Thank you for your attention to this matter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz_8...

⚠️A new @cyberstatecraft.bsky.social report warns that the number of 🇺🇸US-based investors in #spyware has risen sharply in 2024, fuelling an opaque global market that is growing & evolving, & highlights new countries linked to the technology. My exclusive for @wired.com. www.wired.com/story/us-spy...

If youre going to the Global Gathering. I'd like to invite you on the 9th of September at 15:00-1600 to circle 3 where we'll detail our new investigation "Inside a Cross-Border Investigation on Surveillance and Censorship Tech" w/ InterSecLab. wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?ti...

Plus: An AI chatbot system is linked to a widespread hack, details emerge of a US plan to plant a spy device in North Korea, your job’s security training isn’t working, and more. www.wired.com/story/ice-ha...

ICE just reactivated its contract with an Israeli firm that makes phone-hacking spyware. Here's what you should know. #ICE #NewsUS #Hacking #spyware

Intellexa operators return to a Greek court this month on privacy breach charges – but the mystery of its sanctioned 🇮🇪Irish entities still lingers. thecurrency.news/articles/200...

Paragon Solutions (US) $2m contract with 🇺🇸ICE: stop-work order lifted, effective 30 August 2025. www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_A...

Instances of Paragon's Graphite spyware being used to target journalists in Europe remain unexplained. Placing this technology in the hands of an emboldened ICE is a highly concerning move that compounds threats to civil liberties.

A new tool at ICE's disposal and - experts and history tell us - a new threat to civil liberties www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“It’s up to Paragon to decide whether it wants to continue its relationship with ICE, an agency that has dramatically ramped up mass deportations and expanded its surveillance powers since Donald Trump took over the White House,” writes @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2025/09/02/i...

New report by @sekoia.io providing an overview of the commercial #surveillance vendors ecosystem between 2010 and 2025, analysing their #spyware offerings, business models, client base, target profiles, and infection chains. 👇 blog.sekoia.io/predators-fo...

According to Intel. Online, players from Israel’s cyber-offensive sector are returning to the German market. Candiru’s founders have run Dodoma Solutions in 🇩🇪 since 2018. This comes after Interior Minister Dobrindt urged new cyber alliances with 🇮🇱 in June. www.intelligenceonline.com/surveillance...

9/ Fast forwards to last weekend and the US government abruptly reopened the door for the spyware company: "This contract is for a fully configured proprietary solution including license, hardware, warranty, maintenance, and training. This modification is to lift the stop work order."

NEW: Mercenary spyware is coming to the US. ICE just quietly unsuspended their contract with spyware maker #Paragon. Remember them? Caught earlier this year being used to hack Italian journalists. This is bad, let's talk about how we got here 1/ jackpoulson.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

⚠️ A $2 million contract between the 🇺🇸US branch of the Israeli spyware vendor Paragon Solutions and the cyber division of US Homeland Security Investigations was quietly reenabled on Saturday, according to an official US Government public procurement notice. jackpoulson.substack.com/p/exclusive-...