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Facebook bans Israeli cyber companies on spying allegations

 

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Facebook parent company Meta said it will ban Israeli cyber spy firms from its platforms after a report alleged that “cyber mercenaries” had attempted to hack users' accounts. Cyber companies use fishing attempts to gain access to users’ phones. Advanced spyware is nearly impossible for normal users to detect.

Reportedly, hackers hack the data of their targets, which includes human rights activists, government critics, celebrities, journalists and ordinary people of more than 100 countries. In its report, Meta said one Israeli based firm, Black Cube, used fake identities to hack data. The people working for the firm posed themselves as students and human rights workers to set up calls with their targets to hack their personal email addresses.

Another Israeli firm, Bluehawk CI set up social media accounts with fake identities posing as journalists to trick their targets into downloading malware. Their targets included opponents to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. Meta reports also said, “They are targeting journalists. They are targeting politicians. They are targeting human rights defenders.”

The Middle East countries’ cyber spying activities have increased significantly in recent years. Reportedly, Pegasus software, produced by the Israeli NSO Group, has been used by governments of  Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to snoop on journalists, human activists, and opposition members.

The governments were using  Pegasus software to illegally access the phone data of activists and journalists worldwide. Earlier, it was reported that Pegasus Spyware was used to hack the devices of six Palestinian human rights activists. Pegasus spyware has also been used by abusive governments to clamp down on human rights defenders and perceived critics.

Reportedly, Facebook has earlier made attempts to combat cyber spying. Spyware is a growing area of concern for tech giants like Meta, Apple, Google and Microsoft. Reportedly, both Meta and Apple have sued Israel-based NSO Group.

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