Nascondino: Tykelab S.r.l.
VAT number: 11090591006Products: Ubiqo
Parent Company: Cy4Gate S.p.A. (13129151000)
Capabilities: SS7/SIGTRAN Network Surveillance, IP Network Surveillance, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
Tykelab is an Italian information technology company, part of the Cy4Gate group along with RCS.
Founded in 2010, Tykelab main focus is network surveillance.
Specifically, Tykelab, uses dozens of rented or vulnerable phone networks, often on remote Pacific islands, to send tens of thousands of secret “tracking packets” to devices around the world. Targeting people in countries including Libya, Nicaragua, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Iraq, Mali, Greece and Portugal – as well as in Italy itself.[1]
Tykelab does this by exploiting longstanding but frequently unfixed vulnerabilities in global phone networks which make it possible for third parties to see phone users’ locations, and potentially intercept their calls, without any record of compromise being left on their devices.[2]
In 2022, security researchers at Lookout linked Tykelab to RCS Lab as a suspected front company, based on SSL certificates and dual LinkedIn employment of staff.[4][5]
The EU Parliament’s PEGA committee subsequently confirmed that Tykelab and RCS Lab fell within the scope of its spyware investigation.[6][7]
This company is also listed on Surveillance Watch.