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Surveillance firm pays $1 million fine after 'spy van' scandal:
The Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection in Cyprus has collected a $1 million fine from intelligence company WiSpear for gathering mobile data from various individuals arriving at the airport in Larnaca.
While this is just an administrative fine under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is related to a scandal two years ago widely publicized as the "spy van" case.
In 2019, a Chevrolet van packed with at least $3.5 million worth of equipment that could hack Android smartphones and steal data including WhatsApp and Signal messages, was stationed near the Larnaca airport.
The van had been in the area for months when politicians in Cyprus criticized the government for being passive about the activity of the vehicle after seeing its capabilities in action close to the airport in a video from Forbes.
In a press release today, the data protection watchdog in Cyprus announced that WiSpear paid an administrative fine of 925,000 euros for GDPR violations.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by nekomata on Tuesday November 16 2021, @11:01AM
Actually upon further investigation, they based the interception on WiFi. And also compromised devices.
> At the time, WiSpear was registered in Limassol, Cyprus. Headed by Dilian, a former career officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the company specialized in providing end-to-end WiFi interception and security solutions.
>The equipment in the truck, Brewster writes, consisted of surveillance kits and antennas that could trace, compromise, and exfiltrate content from a mobile device, including chats (Facebook, WhatsApp), texts, calls, or contacts.