Global InformationFinFisher information
FinFisher, also known as FinSpy,[1] is surveillance software marketed by Lench IT Solutions plc, which markets the spyware through law enforcement channels.[1]
FinFisher can be covertly installed on targets' computers by exploiting security lapses in the update procedures of non-suspect software.[2][3][4] The company has been criticized by human rights organizations for selling these capabilities to repressive or non-democratic states known for monitoring and imprisoning political dissidents.[5] Egyptian dissidents who ransacked the offices of Egypt's secret police following the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reported that they had discovered a contract with Gamma International for €287,000 for a license to run the FinFisher software.[6] In 2014, an American citizen sued the Ethiopian government for surreptitiously installing FinSpy onto his computer in America and using it to wiretap his private Skype calls and monitor his entire family's every use of the computer for a period of months.[7][8]
Lench IT Solutions plc has a UK-based branch, Gamma International Ltd in Andover, England, and a Germany-based branch, Gamma International GmbH in Munich.[9][10] Gamma International is a subsidiary of the Gamma Group, specializing in surveillance and monitoring, including equipment, software, and training services.[9] It was reportedly owned by William Louthean Nelson through a shell corporation in the British Virgin Islands.[11] The shell corporation was signed by a nominee director in order to withhold the identity of the ultimate beneficiary, which was Nelson, a common system for companies that are established offshore.[12]
On August 6, 2014, FinFisher source code, pricing, support history, and other related data were retrieved from the Gamma International internal network and made available on the Internet.[13]
The FinFisher GmbH opened insolvency proceedings at the Munich Local Court on 02.12.2021,[14] however this is only a restructuring and the company is to continue as Vilicius Holding GmbH.[15]
- ^ a b Nicole Perlroth (August 30, 2012). "Software Meant to Fight Crime Is Used to Spy on Dissidents". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ Jennifer Valentino-Devries (2011-11-21). "Surveillance Company Says It Sent Fake iTunes, Flash Updates". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
Perhaps the most extensive marketing materials came from Gamma's FinFisher brand, which says it works by "sending fake software updates for popular software," from Apple, Adobe and others. The FinFisher documentation included brochures in several languages, as well as videos touting the tools.
- ^
Christopher Williams (2011-11-24). "Apple iTunes flaw 'allowed government spying for 3 years'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
A British company called Gamma International marketed hacking software to governments that exploited the vulnerability via a bogus update to iTunes, Apple's media player, which is installed on more than 250 million machines worldwide.
- ^
Marcel Rosenbach (2011-11-22). "Firm Sought to Install Spyware Via Faked iTunes Updates". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
Apparently, at least according to a video promoting FinFisher, the software uses Apple's popular iTunes in order to load snooping software onto the computers of the intended suspects.
- ^ Marquis-Boire, Morgan (13 March 2013). "You Only Click Twice: FinFisher's Global Proliferation". University of Toronto Citizen Lab. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^
John Leyden (2011-09-21). "UK firm denies supplying spyware to Mubarak's secret police: RATs nest found in Egyptian spook HQ". The Register. Archived from the original on 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
Documents uncovered when the country's security service headquarters were ransacked during the Arab Spring uprising suggest that Egypt had purchased a package called FinFisher to spy on dissidents.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kopsteinwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "American Sues Ethiopian Government for Spyware Infection". Electronic Frontier Foundation. February 18, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-03. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- ^ a b "Corporate Enemies: Gamma International" Archived 2013-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Enemies of the Internet, Special Edition: Surveillance, Reporters Without Borders, 12 March 2013.
- ^ Vernon Silver (July 25, 2012). "Cyber Attacks on Activists Traced to FinFisher Spyware of Gamma". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "Offshore company directors' links to military and intelligence revealed". the Guardian. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- ^ "The 2014 FinFisher Leaks were a precursor to both Vault 7 and Panama Papers". wikileaksdecrypted.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ Andre Meister (August 6, 2014). "Gamma FinFisher hacked: 40 GB of internal documents and source code of government malware published". Netzpolitik.org. Archived from the original on August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ^ "Unternehmensregister". www.unternehmensregister.de. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-10. "Unternehmensregister". Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "Spyware Finfisher nach Namenswechsel bei neuer Holding Vilicius". heise online (in German). 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2021-12-11.