Today's Internet shutdown in Afghanistan is an extension of recent government-directed shutdowns of fiber optic Internet, localized to specific provinces and motivated by a morality crackdown. Read more in our blog post: ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/reports/tali...

The takedown of educational information about abortion from healthcare providers is chilling as we witness more attacks on online access to information online. Learn more about how the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline had content from their Instagram taken down: www.eff.org/pages/silen....

Blackout in Afghanistan as Taliban orders internet service downed at 12:38 UTC (5:08pm local). Earlier this month, Taliban banned fiber optic internet in a rural province to “prevent immorality.” This shutdown follows brief national outage minutes earlier from 11:33 to 11:53 UTC.

The Pakistani PTA just reacted to our reporting on the firewall (WMS 2.0). Which they denied is true, but at the same time they're admitting using it as a surveillance tool: www.arabnews.pk/node/2616727...

Mytel, one of #Myanmar’s national mobile operators, is a pillar of junta’s biz empire, providing revenue, tech & surveillance capabilities. It installed Geedge surveillance systems in Yangon & Mandalay data centres. 💰 Owned by ▫️ MEC—military conglomerate ▫️ Viettel—Vietnam’s MoD ▫️ Crony—vehicle MNTH

Other provinces affected are Fujian and Jiangsu. The Geedge activity inside China shows high levels of trust that the company enjoyed by the Chinese government. The leak also indicates a close relation between Geedge and Mesalab, an academic research laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Previous research by the GFW Report already indicated the existence of provincial firewalls across China with different levels of surveillance and censorship. The Geedge leak confirms that. Xinjiang, the home of 11 million Uyghurs, seems to serve as a testing ground for Geedge's new features.

This photo is everything!! (Alaa with his remarkable mother Dr. Laila Soueif, who spent nearly 300 days on hunger strike to secure her son's release)

علاء علي الاسفلت!!!! Alaa is HOME and FREE!!!

Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s release after years in prison reminds us: digital rights, human rights, and free expression are inseparable. His release is a victory, but the fight for freedom of expression continues. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

The unknown client: A24 is the codename for a client country we were not able to identify. Geedge’s naming convention suggests that the country starts with A and collaboration started in 2024. The implementation of Geedge tools at A24 has been in its early stages when the documents were leaked.

Some ISPs that collaborated with Geedge have received investment from Western institutions. Frontiir (Myanmar) has been supported by the governments of Denmark, Norway and the UK. Safaricom (Ethiopia) received investment from the World Bank Group and British International Investment, among others.

Complicity of Western companies: The Geedge suite relies on the DRM software “Sentinel HASP” to manage its subscriptions. This product is owned by the French aerospace and defense giant Thales Group. Thales confirmed the cooperation, but stated that Geedge does not rely on Sentinel to function.

The Tigray internet shutdown lasted 2 years and was one of the longest in history. It presumably enabled and concealed serious war crimes by hindering people to publish news on social media.

#TheInternetCoup: In Ethiopia, the Geedge suite have been in use in the same time period as the Tigray civil war took place. Geedge began operating in Ethiopia in 2021, one year before the Tigray ceasefire in 2022.

Leaked docs show MPT was first to deploy Geedge systems, enabling real-time spying, helping to build the junta’s surveillance machine. Its partners? Japan’s KDDI & Sumitomo Corp. The companies are still invested despite “amending” their deal. ❌End complicity in junta surveillance & censorship!

He was arrested in 2019 in Egypt and sentenced in 2021 to five years in jail for “spreading false news”.

HUGE HUGE NEWS FROM EGYPT!! Egyptian President Sisi has issued a presidential pardon for activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Israel’s latest intensified bombardment of Gaza has not only killed dozens + displaced tens of thousands but also severed fibre-optic cables, cutting off people from life-saving information + the world. This deliberate silencing must not be ignored. #CeasefireNow! reliefweb.int/report/occup...

Although of course disappointing to see that MI6 haven’t done their homework - it’s Tor, not TOR @torproject.org

We proudly want to present you our analysis of the stalkerware Celular007 that has been covered today by the Brazilian magazine Piauí.

InterSecLab has conducted an in-depth analysis of the stalkerware: interseclab.org/research/unv... Based on our research, we demand the authorities to effectively ban Celular007 and similar apps, to protect the privacy of all individuals.

Celular007 can listen to calls, determine the location, read notifications and messages, access apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook or Instagram, and use the camera remotely. With these permissions, it turns the victim’s phone into an omni-present spy that accesses even the most intimate parts of life.

Its 2-day trial period only requires an email address, and the website offers detailed instructions for non-technical users. Installation requires physical access to the victim’s device, though. Once installed, the app remains invisible and gains almost full control of the victim’s phone.

After a hack of the company’s database, the extent of the stalking has become apparent: With over 100.000 phones infected only by Celular007, the app appears to be used in intimate relationships, against political enemies as well as by police officers. The Android app is easily accessible online.

We proudly want to present you our analysis of the stalkerware Celular007 that has been covered today by the Brazilian magazine Piauí @revistapiaui.bsky.social: piaui.folha.uol.com.br/aplicativo-e... (Portuguese) Celular007 has been widely used for illegal spying, mostly in Brazil.

🔎 Exposing Digital Repression Together Leak has exposed the dark role of Geedge Networks in enabling digital repression globally. Docs reviewed by ⬇️ @interseclab.bsky.social @papertrailmedia.de @amnesty.org @theglobeandmail.com @ftm.eu @derstandard.at @torproject.org

Geedge Networks is exporting commercial version of China's "Great Firewall". We found the illegal junta in Myanmar is one of Geedge’s buyers, using its tech with complicity of telecom operators to track, silence & terrorise millions.

“This is very frightening,” @interseclab.bsky.social's Marla Rivera explained the technical details of new @opentechfund.bsky.social - supported research into Geedge Networks’ censorship and surveillance technologies to @wired.com.

🔟 🇨🇳 Geedge is closely affiliated with the Chinese state & export of its systems to Myanmar aligns with the Belt and Road Initiative. This is part of a broader pattern in which the 🇨🇳 gov't remains a principal supplier of arms to the Myanmar junta, aiding & abetting the commission of atrocity crimes.

9️⃣ ⚠️ Geedge is helping the illegal #Myanmar junta refine its capacity to track down, torture and kill activists and may thereby be aiding and abetting international crimes.

8️⃣ Geedge contracts cover its core surveillance architecture: 🛠️ Centralized Management & Cyber Narrator tools to “hunt” proxy users 🛠️ Three years of free updates, on-site support, and hardware replacements 🛠️ Ongoing deployment of Geedge engineers in Myanmar

7️⃣ In 2022, Geedge technicians visited Myanmar to install and test its Tiangou Secure Gateway (TSG) system. Training included: 🔒 Blocking VPNs like NordVPN & ProtonVPN 🔒 Restricting YouTube 🔒 Controlling Viber voice calls

6️⃣ 📡 13 telecommunications companies in Myanmar are integral to the functioning of Geedge’s sophisticated surveillance and censorship technology on behalf of the illegal junta.

5️⃣ Geedge’s main partner is junta-controlled Ministry of Transport & Communications (MOTC) through its National Cyber Security Centre, seized illegally after coup attempt. MOTC handle digital forensics, intl cooperation & “lawful interception”, giving junta real-time monitoring of calls & web traffic

4️⃣ Even before activation of Geedge systems, an NRK report mapping which customer info telecoms operator Telenor handed the Myanmar junta, found it may have contributed to the arbitrary imprisonment and execution of activists, demonstrating how partnership with the junta can be deadly buff.ly/gR6CSrw

3️⃣ Geedge systems enable the tracking of network traffic at the individual level and can identify the geographic location of mobile subscribers in real time by linking their activity to specific cell identifiers.

2️⃣ Geedge Network exports its deadly surveillance & censorship products to authoritarian governments including Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia & Pakistan 👀

1️⃣100,000+ leaked Geedge Networks docs exposes how it exports a commercial version of China's "Great Firewall" worldwide. Dataset was reviewed by a coalition of media & NGO/CSOs: @interseclab.bsky.social @papertrailmedia.de @amnesty.org @theglobeandmail.com @ftm.eu @derstandard.at @torproject.org

🇨🇳 🔟 things you should know about China’s "Great Firewall" in #Myanmar Geedge Networks has exported a commercial version of China's "Great Firewall" surveillance & censorship system to Myanmar, giving illegal junta unprecedented access to & control over online activities of 33.4M internet users. 🧵⬇️

📢 Sanctions must be imposed on Geedge Networks and its leadership, and there must be an international criminal investigation of individuals in directive and leadership positions of Geedge Networks for aiding and abetting international crimes.

New @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported research from @interseclab.bsky.social and partners uncovers how Chinese company Geedge Networks is exporting a comprehensive, turnkey surveillance and censorship system worldwide. Learn more: buff.ly/R7FJAyD

Come hear @interseclab.bsky.social, @papertrailmedia.de and Amnesty talk about our latest investigation the Great Firewall Export in Berlin on 30 September! www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/en/programme...

Leak reveals China is exporting internet censorship technology. A massive leak is shedding light on how the country’s censorship technology works and which countries it’s being exported to. #geedge #privacy #censorship #china www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the...

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

China is exporting its "Great Firewall" to authoritarian clients incl. Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and #Myanmar junta. As the @theglobeandmail.com reports, "Such [censorship and surveillance] capabilities, Geedge’s history suggests, may soon roll out to the company’s clients all over the world."

Leaked dataset casts light on Chinese company Geedge Networks business around the world, incl #Myanmar. Our report exposes 13 telecom biz in Myanmar that are integral to the functioning of Geedge’s sophisticated surveillance & censorship tech on behalf of the junta. Read more👇🏽 #GreatFirewallExport

China's Geedge Networks', which has provided the #Myanmar junta with sophisticated surveillance and censorship technology, relies of Western technology, including software from France's Thales Group for control of licences. Read more @ftm.eu buff.ly/1R3g1Dc @papertrailmedia.de #GreatFirewallExport

Chinese company Geedge Networks has exported surveillance and censorship technology to several repressive regimes. For its export of surveillance and censorship technologies, Geedge Networks partly relied on Western and European technology.