Nascondino is an Osservatorio Nessuno project to document Italian companies that produce Digital Surveillance products.

Nascondino: Area S.p.A.

VAT number: 03320220126
Products: MCR Studio, MCR Captor, MCR Tracer-V3, MCR Tracer-V4
Parent Company: A+GROUP S.r.l. (03016930129)
Capabilities: IP Network Surveillance, Video/Audio Surveillance, GPS/location Trackers, Wiretapping

Area is an Italian information technology company.
Founded in 1996, Area flagship product consists 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]
The story was first reported by Bloomberg and later investigated in depth by Privacy International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).[4][5] [6]
In 2014, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) fined Area $100,000 for the unlawful export of US-origin network monitoring equipment to Syria.[7][8]
In 2014, Area founded a new UK-based branch called Area Systems UK.

In 2017, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development revoked Area’s export license for a surveillance deal with Egypt, following pressure from civil society organizations and the prosecutor’s office.[9][10][11]
That same year, an undercover investigation by Al-Jazeera uncovered how Area - and other companies, tried to circumvent European regulation to sell spying technology.[12][13][14]

In 2018, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) filed a criminal complaint to the German Federal Public Prosecutor identifying Area among the technology providers to Syrian intelligence.[15] The European Parliament also raised formal questions about Area building a monitoring center in Damascus.[16]

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism investigated global surveillance technology sales, covering Area among the companies providing monitoring systems to repressive regimes.[17]
A 2023 academic article in the European Journal of International Law analyzed EU dual-use export controls on spyware, referencing Area as a case study in the failures of the regulatory framework.[18]

In 2024, an IrpiMedia investigation provided a comprehensive overview of Area’s history, including the Syria and Egypt exports and a ruling by the Council of State excluding the company from tenders.[19]

This company is also listed on EarsAndEyes, Bugged Planet and Surveillance Watch.

Nascondino: Area S.p.A.

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