‘Illegal’ use of spyware – El Siglo de Torreón

BROUGHT IRREGULARITIES IN SERVICE OF SPY BY STATE GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING DURANGO

The government of Durango, like other state governments in Mexico, bought a spyware that does not have permission to use and putting human rights and due process at risk, concludes a report by the Chilean organization Digital rights published Monday.

As reported timely El Siglo de Torreon, in July 2015 a leak of WikiLeaks revealed that Mexico was the main customer of the Italian company, having shopped for 5 million 808 thousand euros.

the report details dependencies governments of the State of Mexico, Puebla, Tamaulipas, Yucatan, Durango, Jalisco, Baja California and Petroleos Mexicanos bought programs to extract data from mobile phones, tablets and computers without constitutional powers.

the State of Durango bought licenses spying programs 421,000 euros, having as intermediary the company Elite. Despite the evidence, the state government has denied contracted such services.

After a legal analysis of eight months Digital Rights concluded that Durango has no constitutional permission to use the spy program, then checked the purchase occurred through the “governor’s office,” according to the leak of WikiLeaks.

Mexican law states that only the Attorney General’s office (PGR), the Center for Investigation and National Security (Cisen), Federal Police and state prosecutors may request the interception of communications.

Malware surveillance study in Latin America, available on the site www.derechosdigitales.org says that is worrying the use of spying programs outside security activities, because it opens the door to abuse and violation of human rights

it was reported that espionage programs have been used for political purposes.; for example, in the state of Puebla (where the purchase was also “the governor’s office”) leaks documented monitoring communications of journalists and opposition politicians.

“Given the close relationship our region has to authoritarianism, is particularly worrying that the authorities have such tools, “says the report Digital Rights.

Hacking Team created the Da Vinci and Galileo programs that serve to infect phones, computers and tablets to extract all kinds of data, from photos and videos, up passwords and listener phone calls.

The Galileo and Da Vinci programs serve to make phone calls, text messages and any application type chat , passwords, pictures, real-time location, control cameras and microphones of any electronic device.

the document Digital rights argues that the power of software endangers human rights and due process, that the public has no way of knowing if authorities make good use of the programs.

Hacking Team “has access to virtually everything, which opens the door to all kinds of abuse,” says the document.