News

Surveillance & Spyware

Surveillance by governments and companies, including spyware and face and licence plate recognition, and the rulings and investigations around it.

Zero-click spyware delivered through targeted ads

Citizen Lab published a report on 15 October linking, with high confidence, attacks on at least 45 Al Jazeera devices between 2024 and 2025 to targeted ads from the Israeli ad firm Discover-Tech and spyware from Candiru. Al Jazeera is the only confirmed target, and the exploited vulnerabilities are not described. The advice for general readers is to block ads and limit advertising IDs, which according to the report lowers only part of the risk.

Based on 18 sources, including Citizen Lab, IAB Europe, Adtimizer

Surveillance technologies in migration and border control

Privacy International published a guide in September to 12 categories of technology used by immigration and border authorities, including phone extraction, drones, GPS tagging and algorithmic decision-making. Migrants and asylum seekers are directly affected, and the fingerprint and face checks travellers meet at borders fall into one category. Public documents from UK, German, Canadian and EU bodies set out their purposes and safeguards.

Based on 12 sources, including Privacy International, Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Frontex

US Police License Plate Readers and a Florida Arrest

Flock's license plate reader cameras, used by US police, saw a run of developments in August and September. Flock shortened its default data retention, a Senate subcommittee held a hearing, and Florida and Texas restricted the cameras. A woman who was arrested and then not prosecuted sued two state troopers. The practices are confined to the US, and readers elsewhere are not directly affected.

Based on 14 sources, including Florida Department of Transportation, National Sheriffs' Association, Flock Safety

The UK Supreme Court ruling on state immunity in a spyware claim

The UK Supreme Court ruled that Bahrain cannot claim state immunity to stop a UK court hearing claims that it hacked computers in the UK with spyware operated from abroad. The ruling decides only whether UK courts can hear the case, and whether the hacking happened has not been tried.

Based on 10 sources, including UK Supreme Court, legislation.gov.uk, Citizen Lab

Recognising and responding to Apple threat notifications

Apple sent mercenary spyware threat notifications to users in 110 countries in August, though the vast majority of people will never be targeted. Apple's support page lists where genuine notifications appear and what they never ask for, and recipients can turn on Lockdown Mode and seek help.

Based on 11 sources, including Apple, Freedom of the Press Foundation, TechCrunch

ZuckOff, a Bluetooth detector for camera smart glasses

ZuckOff matches Bluetooth broadcasts to warn that camera glasses such as Ray-Ban Meta are nearby. It cannot tell whether anyone is recording, and the app itself is closed source.

Based on 7 sources, including ZuckOff, App Store, WIRED Middle East