A shocking report on Premium Times reveals that the Bayelsa state government paid close to N100 Million to an Italian firm - a Hacking Team, to hack computers and phones in Nigeria, as new information emerging from the firm’s leaked internal data goes viral.
The hacking team which is notorious for equipping governments with tools to hack citizens’ computers and phones, was itself hacked Sunday night and 415 gigabyte of internal data leaked to the public.
Since it was first leaked on Sunday night, researchers have been pouring through the leaked documents and throwing up many shocking details of the firm’s secret dealings with Bayelsa state and other repressive governments, including Sudan, Russia, and Bahrain.
Documents seen by Premium Times show that the Bayelsa government paid the Hacking Team N98 million to carry out internet attacks, in what appears to be the most ambitious hacking project by a Nigerian state government.
The Hacking Team’s leaked internal documents after the Sunday night hack attack on the company, shows that the contract with Bayelsa government was signed in late 2013 and is classed “intelligence” – the same class with contracts the firm unlawfully held with Russia and Sudan.
According to the leaked document, the cost of Bayelsa government’s contract with the firm is equivalent to what the Russian government recently paid the firm for maintenance of its Remote Control System. And worth more than what Turkey, Columbia and Bahrain paid to the firm.
The Hacking Team, now learning how it feels to have one’s privacy breached, is notorious for developing intrusive softwares for state clients who use them to hack citizen’s computers and smartphones. Hacking Team’s twitter account was hacked and used to announce the hack.
The firm claims its intrusion softwares – Remote Control Systems – are the most invasive and ruthless, with ability to compromise most operating systems, except iOS – but including jail-broken iOS.
In one video commercial, it boasted that its software could hack offline and encrypted computers and smartphones, even if the target was outside the government’s “monitoring domain”.
Hacking Team’s Remote Control Systems are more dangerous and intrusive than the WISE technology the Nigerian government bought from Israeli company, Elbit in 2013. Galileo, one of the company’s most evil softwares, is also able to secretly take snapshots and record conversations of its victims.
The Hacking Team is loathed by digital activists and freedom of expression advocates all over the world for helping oppressive regimes abuses citizens’ right to privacy and freedom of speech. Reporters Without Borders listed the firm on its Enemies of the Internet index due to its primary surveillance tool, Da Vinci.
The intentions of the Bayelsa state government in purchasing the software is unclear at this time because as at the time the state government acquired the software, it was not known to be under any external cyber aggression.
Hacking Team did not sell its software directly to the Bayelsa state government. The transaction was channeled through an Israeli company, NICE, and then V&V Nigeria.
V&V, also Israeli-owned, is known to have close relationship with former Bayelsa state governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
V&V is responsible for the supply of many government hacking tools in Nigeria.
V&V, also Israeli-owned, is known to have close relationship with former Bayelsa state governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
V&V is responsible for the supply of many government hacking tools in Nigeria.