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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