WikiLeaks logo (Photo : Inquirer.net)
WikiLeaks has released an email batch suggesting that Indian intelligence agencies might be trying to develop interception capabilities, through the phone tapping of international handsets. The whistleblower website has made available thousands of electronic letters from the Italian company Hacking Team (HT), which provides surveillance tech such as for smartphone bugs, to various countries including India.
The ministries can already target certain mobile gadgets. However, The Indian agencies could now be searching for the ability to use a net of surveillance over a huge number of mobile devices.
The Indian departments might be trying to conduct phone tapping with the same scope as the privacy breech of the Edward Snowden leaks. They exposed the set-up of United States intelligence.
There is another implication. The agencies could also be looking to eliminate the need to receive a state home secretary's written permission before conducting an electronic interception.
A HT senior official zipped off a noteworthy e-mail to Israel's NICE in 2013. It shows the broad capabilities that Indian intelligence agencies were hoping to secure.
A Singaporean team also recently gave a presentation to an Indian agency, related to phone tapping tech. The latter learned that the company could not support non-smart phones yet.
HT wrote an e-mail to Maharashtra police. It revealed that its Remote Control System (RCS) uses stealth methods to "attack, infect, and monitor" smartphones and PCs, according to India Times.
RCS can collect data from operating systems such as Windows and OSX, and monitor mobile devices including Google Android, and Apple iOS. After the target device is infected, the system can access digital data such as files and screenshots, from applications including Facebook, Twitter, and Skype.
HT states in a RCS brochure that because targets are constantly moving, the solution is to bypass encryption, collect data from mobile devices, and then keep monitoring gadgets. Many key features were listed. They included its abilities to be undetected by mobile users, dodge anti-virus software and firewalls, and not drain battery life.
HT's e-mails include other juicy tidbits. The IT company's written communications also included exchanges with Uzbekistan's and Saudi Arabia's governments, according to Engadget.
