• Myanmar Acquired Spyware From Israeli Cyber-intelligence Firm Cognyte, New Docs Reveal - National Security & Cyber
    Oded Yaron – Jan 15, 2023 - Haaretz.com
    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-01-15/ty-article/.premium/myanmar-acquired-spyware-from-israels-cognyte-new-docs-reveal/00000185-b415-d2c1-afe7-fc37abf40000

    Israeli company Cognyte, which is traded on the Nasdaq, won a tender by a Myanmar state-owned company to provide an advanced cyber-intelligence system to be installed at the heart of the country’s telecommunications network – in order to monitor and eavesdrop on users, documents obtained by the NGO Justice For Myanmar reveal.

    Although the U.S. and the EU have imposed an arms embargo on Myanmar, Israel initially refused to stop selling weapons to the military junta that now openly controls the country. Exports and contacts with the regime continued even as Myanmar pursued genocidal policies towards its Rohingya minority in the years 2016-2017. Only following extensive media coverage and public pressure did Israel halt exports at the start of 2018.

    The documents reveal plans by Myanmar’s regime to install “lawful interception” tools on the networks of all the country’s telecommunications providers. Such systems are used in many countries to provide police and enforcement agencies with tools to track citizens. They monitor network activity, doing everything from locating mobile devices to eavesdropping on conversation, hacking into devices, and extracting text and encrypted messages.

    The documents show that Cognyte won a tender in December 2020 to supply a system to Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, a state-owned company controlled by the country’s Communications Ministry. The contract was awarded about a month before the junta seized power in a coup.

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