In June, a significant surveillance industry event took place at the Clarion Congress Hotel in Prague, known as the ISS World Training. Here, law enforcement and intelligence agencies network with companies that specialize in surveillance technology. This event is exclusive, keeping journalists and outsiders away from discovering the technologies and tactics used for monitoring individuals.
The Surveillance Expo:
- Vendors displayed a variety of products such as hidden cameras, drones, and software for tracking phone locations.
- One company’s software particularly stood out: it offered comprehensive capabilities to track individuals’ movements using their mobile phones.
The Discovery of a Data Set
The narrative shifts to a journalist who, while exploring the deep web, stumbled upon a massive data set containing 1.5 million rows of information, including geographical coordinates and phone numbers. This discovery was linked to a surveillance firm named First Swap, which sells location-tracking software to governments worldwide.
As the journalist examined the data, they found notable names, including Italian journalist John Luigi Nuzzi, who was actively investigating corruption within the Vatican at the time. This connection led the journalist to realize that the data revealed sophisticated and possibly invasive surveillance activities targeting high-profile individuals globally.
First Wap operates from Jakarta, where permissive export laws have allowed their surveillance business to flourish, First Wap’s European founders and executives have quietly built a phone-tracking empire, with a footprint extending from the Vatican to the Middle East to Silicon Valley.
It calls its proprietary system Altamides, which it describes in promotional materials as “a unified platform to covertly locate the whereabouts of single or multiple suspects in real-time, to detect movement patterns, and to detect whether suspects are in close vicinity with each other.”
Altamides leaves no trace on the phones it targets, unlike spyware such as Pegasus. Nor does it require a target to click on a malicious link or show any of the telltale signs (such as overheating or a short battery life) of remote monitoring.
First Wap emphasizes that its technology is used by law enforcement to “fight against organized crime, terrorism and corruption.” It sells Altamides directly, as well as through third-party resellers. The company said in a statement that it does not provide “any tracking services to government entities or similar”—that is, it does not perform any tracking itself—and that “after installation” it has no further involvement in or knowledge of how its product is used. It said it sells solely to “government entities, which have a clear and verified legal mandate to obtain and operate such products” and it “vets and verifies” users “for sanctions compliance.” The company’s contracts state that customers must comply with anti-corruption laws and “there must not be any business transaction with a sanctioned entity,” and First Wap said it adheres to these rules “no matter what any sales personnel may state verbally.” Of the company’s interactions with undercover reporters at the Prague conference, it said that “misunderstandings evidently arose” and that the statements by its executives referred merely to “technical feasibility.”
Last year the investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports obtained a secret archive, containing more than a million instances where Altamides was used to trace cell phones all over the world. This data trove, the majority of which spans 2007 to 2014, is one of the largest disclosures to date of the inner workings of the vast surveillance industry. It does not just list the phone numbers of people who were monitored; it offers, in many cases, precise maps of their movements, showing where they went and when. Over months of research, Lighthouse, Germany’s Paper Trail Media, Mother Jones, Reveal, and an international consortium of partners dug into these logs to understand who was being spied on and why. We identified surveillance targets in 100 countries and spoke to dozens of them. We obtained confidential documents and communications outlining how Altamides—an acronym for “Advanced Location Tracking and Mobile Information and Deception System”—was marketed and deployed. We also interviewed industry insiders and former employees of the company about its operations and clientele.
What we learned modifies what we understand about the history of surveillance technology, showing that dangerous tools were already widespread before Edward Snowden raised the issue on a global scale.
Who Is Being Tracked?
The data set included several significant, and sometimes troubling, observations:
- Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of the genetics company 23andMe, was tracked extensively.
- Other notable figures included politicians and activists, which raised concerns about the legitimate use of surveillance technologies.
- The data revealed spikes in surveillance activities correlating with political unrest or significant events, indicating that such tools could be used to monitor dissent rather than just criminal activity.
Collaboration with Other Journalists
Recognizing the importance of this information, the journalist collaborated with Paper Trail Media and experienced journalists behind the Panama Papers. Together, they sought to uncover the implications of the data and the ethical concerns surrounding surveillance.
Undercover Operation at ISS World
In a daring move, an undercover investigation attempted to engage the surveillance companies at the trade fair. They created a fictional character—an apparent representative of a research firm—to explore whether companies would sell their software for questionable purposes.
- During their interactions, the company’s officials discussed ways to circumvent legal barriers to sell surveillance services to clients with unethical motives, such as tracking environmental activists protesting against mining companies.
This exchange highlighted a willingness to disregard legal and ethical concerns for profit.
Implications of Unchecked Surveillance
The findings prompt serious questions regarding the surveillance industry:
- Vulnerabilities in Technology: Companies capitalize on lack of security, exploiting telecom networks and devices, leaving citizens unprotected.
- Lack of Oversight: Governments and tech firms are criticized for failing to adequately safeguard users’ privacy.
This investigation reveals a troubling landscape where surveillance technology is misused, tracking not just criminals but journalists and activists demanding transparency. While the immediate response to tracking oneself seems to be turning off the phone, the larger issue calls for an urgent need to secure our connections and understand the implications of pervasive surveillance in our society. Every individual should be aware that as long as their device is on, they might be vulnerable to being tracked without their consent.
Ref: Mother Jones, Youtube
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