Nascondino: Hacking Team S.r.l.
VAT number: 03924730967Products: DaVinci, Galileo
Capabilities: IP Network Surveillance, Spyware, Rootkit, Remote Control System
Hacking Team was an Italian information technology company.
Founded in 2003, Hacking Team flagship tools were RCS DaVinci and RCS Galileo - two versions of the same product.
The tools allowed law enforcement to monitor a suspect’s cell phone conversations (Skype, WhatsApp, Viber), emails, and calls, spy on the target through his or her webcam and microphone, record the keystrokes and the screen, and infect target computer’s UEFI BIOS firmware with a rootkit.[1]
The tool contained spyware agents for all various kinds of devices (Blackberry, Symbian, iOS, WindowsMobile, etc) that could be installed manually by law enforcement, or through a previously infected PC.[2]
In 2014, Citizen Lab published foundational research mapping Hacking Team’s RCS infrastructure across 21 countries, and documented its use against Ethiopian journalists.[3][4]
In 2015, Hacking Team suffered a major data breach of customer data, software code, internal documents and e-mails.
The leaked documents suggested that among their clients were the governments and security services of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, many of whom have been criticised by international human rights organisations for their aggressive surveillance of citizens, activists and journalists both domestically and overseas.[5]
The leaked emails, later published by WikiLeaks as a searchable archive of over 1 million messages, confirmed sales to repressive regimes including Sudan and Ethiopia.[6][7]
Hacking Team’s tools were also leaked and published on GitHub.[8]
The breach prompted investigations and reports by EFF[9], Human Rights Watch[10], and Amnesty International.[11]
In 2016, the Italian government revoked Hacking Team’s global export license.[12]
In 2019, Hacking Team was acquired by InTheCyber Group to create Memento Labs.[13][14]
This company is also listed on Surveillance Watch.