Area is an italian information technology company.
Founded in 1996, Area flagship product consist of a suite called MCR, a comprehensive solution for global interception and analysis of voice, fax, video and data (Internet or private networks) on any type of wired and wireless connections.[1]
Area claims that as of 2022 there were 300 installations of the MCR System around the world.[2]
In 2011, Area sold network monitoring tools to the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria, just months before the starting of the civil war.[3]
It was fined in the 2014 by the US Gov - the country from which it shipped the tech, but apparently the transaction was authorized by the Italian Economic Development Ministry.[4]
In 2014, Area found a new UK-based branch called Area Systems UK.
In 2017, an undercover investigation by Al-Jazeera uncovered how Area - and other companies, tried to circumvent European regulation to sell spying technology.[5][6][7]
This company is also listed on EarsAndEyes, Bugged Planet and Surveillance Watch.
