The Predator Files, an investigation published in October 2023 and coordinated by the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network, exposed the proliferation of surveillance technologies around the world and the failure of governments and the European Union to properly regulate the industry. The Intellexa alliance – an association of several European companies – supplied a form of highly invasive spyware, Predator, to states around the world and enabled the unlawful targeting of activists, journalists, academics and political figures.

Amnesty International’s Security Lab website, like most websites, uses small text files called cookies. This note provides information on what cookies are, which cookies the Security Lab uses, and how they can be controlled. 

Amnesty International’s Security Lab is committed to ensuring the privacy of all our users. We have long campaigned for the right to privacy and against government unlawful surveillance and intrusion. This policy represents our commitment as an organisation to your right to privacy, giving you a clear explanation about how we use your information and your rights over that information. The same principles also apply when we collect personal data from you through other channels (e-mail, phone calls or messages, etc.). 

Amnesty International’s Security Lab is pleased to announce that it is part of the inaugural cohort of groups to be supported by the Spyware Accountability Initiative (SAI), whose mission is to grow a global field of civil society organizations who are advancing threat research, advocacy and accountability to address the use and trade of spyware. 

Amnesty International has developed the Mobile Verification Toolkit, a tool to facilitate the consensual forensic analysis of Android and iOS devices, for the purpose of identifying traces of compromise. It continues to be maintained by Amnesty International and other contributors.

The increasing number of spyware scandals across Europe and around the world were an alarm bell for Alex, a 31-year-old Romanian activist working at the intersection of human rights, technology and public policy.

The following talk was presented by Donncha Ó Cearbhaill from the Amnesty International Security Lab at the 37c3 Chaos Communications Congress in December 2023.

This forensic appendix outlines forensic evidence on the use of highly invasive spyware against two journalists from India. Our investigation confirms that the devices of both individuals were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware between August and October 2023. More information about the context for these attacks is available in an accompanying press release.

Amnesty International, in partnership with The Washington Post, has unearthed shocking new details about the continued use of NSO Group’s highly invasive spyware Pegasus to target prominent journalists in India, including one who had previously been a victim of an attack using the same spyware.

Spyware is a type of malicious software. It interferes with a device’s normal operation to collect information without alerting the user and sends it to another unauthorised entity.

by Rebecca White

Amnesty International has today launched its global website as an .onion site on the Tor network, giving users greater access to its ground-breaking work exposing and documenting human rights violations in areas where government censorship and digital surveillance are rife.