A/HRC/41/35/Add.3
accounts of protesters to promote a link to a malware infected website disguised as the
official website belonging to March for Justice. (Id., 4). The attackers promoted the site
using popular hashtags and retweets of legitimate content, and also shared the link on the
March for Justice Facebook group. (Id., 3-6).
Deep Packet Inspection
13.
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) tools are tools that allow users to monitor and analyze
all traffic passing through internet and telecommunications networks. Governments are able
to block access to websites by either redirecting network users to download infected
versions of popular software, including antivirus software, or adding malicious traffic to
Internet connections to prevent networks users from accessing a website the government
wants to block. Narus and Sandvine, which are based in the U.S., have sold DPI tools to the
government of Egypt. Civil society fears that these tools are being used in the government’s
ongoing crackdown on journalists. (CPJ, 3 - 4) Sandvine’s DPI products have also been
linked to the censorship of websites belonging to the media or opposition parties in Egypt
and Turkey. (Association for Freedom of thought and Expression, Egypt (“AFTE”), 6)
Large-Scale Monitoring Software
14.
In addition to developing tools that target specific devices or accounts, some
companies help governments build and operate systems capable of large-scale surveillance.
Verint Systems and NICE Systems, based in Israel, develop and sell monitoring center
platforms that enable governments to monitor and intercept internet traffic across all
domestic networks. This “critical interception infrastructure” has reportedly been sold to
the government of Colombia. (CPJ, 4-5; Al Sur, 3). Nexa, previously named Amesys and
based in France, sells both large-scale monitoring centers and targeted surveillance tools
(International Federation for Human Rights (“FIDH”), 2-3; AFTE, 6). Amesys’ large-scale
monitoring software Cerebro allows authorities to engage in “a comprehensive surveillance
of communications through DPI, including voice calls, text messages, e-mails, instant
messages, social networks, and search engine searches.” (AFTE Submission, 5). This
software has been linked to attacks on civil society and other human rights abuses in Libya
and Egypt. (Privacy International, 5; FIDH, 2). In Brazil, Digitro Tecnologia designs and
sells monitoring systems that “allo[w] up to 30 people to work simultaneously on mobile
phones, landlines and emails.” The government of Uruguay and the Brazilian Federal
Police are reportedly customers. (Derechos Digitales, 2).
International Mobile Subscriber Identity-catchers
15.
International Mobile Subscriber Identity-catchers (IMSIs) intercept mobile
communications by mimicking the strongest nearby cell tower where they are located and
draw the connection of personal communication devices. The connection allows IMSIcatchers to acquire data that observers may use to monitor telephone calls and location data.
IMSI-catchers have widespread use, often by law enforcement and intelligence agencies
(International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, 8). The use of IMSIs has been
documented in United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa (Id.,
8-9). In South Africa, IMSI-catchers are deployed without judicial oversight (ALT
Advisory and Right2Know Campaign, 12). IMSI-catchers and other tools were also used in
the Philippines to “hunt down and kill dealers and addicts” as part of the government’s war
on drugs (Southeast Asian Press Alliance (“SEAPA”), 1).
Biometric Surveillance
16.
In China, companies develop, export, and facilitate an extensive range of
surveillance technologies including biometrics identification systems, and facial recognition
and gait recognition software (Human Rights in China (“HRIC”), 1). Gait recognition
developed by the Chinese company Watrix, for example, identifies individuals by the
manner in which they walk (Chinese Human Rights Defenders (“CHRD”), 2). In Paraguay,
facial recognition systems are being used to monitor downtown areas and football stadiums.
(AI Sur, 5- 6). In Brazil, facial recognition software has been deployed to “prevent fraud on
buses” and in airports and public schools. (Internet Lab, 6 - 7). In 2014, Venezuela
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