Spyware and Surveillance

By: Eric Walbridge   

        

There have been several advances in criminal monitoring that are put in to use by a country’s federal government. Due to the advancement of technology and the use of the internet, new developments are emerging as a way of monitoring and tracking criminals. In a recent article published by the New York Times, the use of Internet spyware by federal governments has overreached the initial purpose of the monitoring technology. A British technology company called Gamma Group was documented selling their spyware called FinSpy to at least twenty-five different federal governments around the world.  The Gamma Group was quoted in the article stating that their software is “solely for criminal investigations”. The problem with this is that governments that have a long history of human rights violations, such as Ethiopia and Serbia, are utilizing this spyware. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s school of Global Affairs and the University of California Berkeley have found that FinSpy can literally “grab images off your computer, record Skype chats, and turn on cameras and microphones”. This technology is being used by government officials to monitor political behavior rather than criminal behavior. As seen in Ethiopia, FinSpy is disguised as an email and sent to suspected anti-government citizens. Once the email is opened, the spyware is able to monitor all activity on the person’s computer.

            

The original design for this spyware was not to monitor citizen’s behavior, but rather to track criminals and potential crimes. But government officials seem to be extending this technology to gain a political advantage and also to invade the privacy of its citizens. This technology is extremely difficult to detect and nearly impossible to shut down completely. Researchers urge citizens of these counties to be mindful of the growing use of these types of spyware technologies and to speak out against the violations of privacy that are being implemented by their federal government. The use of FinSpy could definitely be used to prevent crime and investigate criminal behavior, but at the expense of the privacy of citizens. The growing use of technology in crime prevention can be a cover for a wide variety of uses that extend far beyond its original design. It is up to the citizens of these countries, included our own United States, to speak out against these egregious privacy violations.