Tag Archive for: Caledonia

New Caledonia and Vanuatu sign memorandum for marine cable


A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the governments of Vanuatu and New Caledonia last Friday afternoon effectively paves the way for a second submarine cable instalment from Port Vila to Lifou, in New Caledonia.

New Caledonia president Louis Mapou and Vanuatu prime minister Bob Loughman exchanging a memorandum of understanding which paves the way for a second submarine cable installment in New Caledonia.

New Caledonia president Louis Mapou and Vanuatu prime minister Bob Loughman exchanging a memorandum of understanding which paves the way for a second submarine cable instalment in New Caledonia.
Photo: Supplied

Interchange Limited (ICL) General Manager Willie Karie says the signing is a big step towards internet connectivity, internet security and overseas expansion.

Karie said the agreement showed the backing of both governments to facilitate ICL’s second marine cable to Lifou, New Caledonia.

ICL will work with the Office des Postes et Télécommunications de Nouvelle-Calédonie (OPT-NC) towards the initiative.

Both governments put pen to paper, witnessed by government officials and other stakeholders.

Karie confirmed that New Caledonia was keen to partner with Vanuatu on this project. He confirmed that the Landing Agreement was in place and the process would be completed next week.

ICL acknowledged the government and all partners for their support towards this initiative.

The external relations advisor to the president of the government of New Caledonia, Charles Wea, said the signing agreement followed a request to the New Caledonia government to facilitate and secure the internet development in Vanuatu.

Wea said they were happy to be part of the agreement.

He added this was important for the people of both countries. The MOU was signed by Vanuatu prime minister Bob Loughman and the president of territorial government of New Caledonia, Louis Mapou.

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Why Scotland Buying Israeli Phone-Hacking Kit is Dangerous – Bella Caledonia


THE expulsion of democratically elected members of the Hong Kong Legislative Assembly exposes once again the intolerance of dissent under Beijing’s authoritarian state capitalism.  China is now a model for the 21st surveillance state with its citizenry increasingly subject to electronic monitoring of a sort even George Orwell’s Big Brother could not dream of.  Meanwhile, in totalitarian Belarus, the state is using exactly the same phone hacking and data technology as in China to monitor opponents of the regime.  Ditto Saudi Arabia, which used related phone tech to follow the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the lead-up to his assassination and dismemberment by Saudi agents, in Istanbul in October 2018.

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But what has this got to do with social democratic Scotland, you will ask?  The answer is that Police Scotland has acquired its own phone hacking equipment – in this case, specifically to bypass passcode locks on mobile handsets – from the very same company as supplies Beijing, Minsk and Riyadh with their repressive surveillance equipment.  That company is called Cellebrite, an Israeli digital intelligence supplier, headquartered in the Petah Tikva district of Tel Aviv.

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According to company figures, in mid-2019 Cellebrite had 45% of the global mobile telephone forensics market.  Its managers claim that Cellebrite products are the first work tool in 75% of police investigations everywhere.  Even if this is an exaggeration, Cellebrite is the go-to digital technology for police forces everywhere. It is also bought in volume by private sector companies for internal security, snooping on employees and industrial espionage.

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CELLEBRITE AND SCOTLAND

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Cellebrite is one of the leading Israeli security tech companies.  It specialises in so-called “mobile forensics” – the software and gizmos to break into your mobile phone.  Cellebrite claims to have sold its products to over 150 foreign law enforcement agencies.  Forget all that guff you hear about the cops begging Apple to unlock a suspect’s phone and being told that would break privacy conventions. You simply buy some kit from Cellebrite, plug it in and hey presto all your phone secrets are…

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