Tag Archive for: Protesters

Hackers Use Telegram, Signal, Dark Web to Help Iranian Protesters

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Protesters against the Iran regime are getting a boost to aid their efforts from hacking groups who are using Telegram, Signal and the dark web to get around government restrictions.

“Key activities are data leaking and selling, including officials’ phone numbers and emails, and maps of sensitive locations. CPR sees the sharing of open VPN servers to bypass censorship and reports on the internet status in Iran, as well as the hacking of conversations and guides,” according to a blog post by Check Point Research (CPR), which shared five examples of the counterprotesters’ activities.

Telegram groups, the researchers said, include between 900 to 1,200 members, some of which offer a list of proxies and a VPN to maneuver around Iranian government censorship while another group helps protesters gain access to social media.

CPR noted the activities the day after protests began following the death of Mahsa Amini. “Specifically, hacker groups are allowing people in Iran to communicate with each other, share news and what is going on in different places, which is what the government is trying to avoid, to lower the flames,” CPR said. “As per usual with these uprisings, there are some hacking groups that are trying to make a profit from the situation and to sell information from Iran and the regime.”

Researchers specifically called out the Official Atlas Intelligence Group channel, a group with 900 members that uses Telegram to leak and sell data. They are “focusing on leaking data that can help against the regime in Iran, including officials’ phone numbers and emails and maps of sensitive locations,” PCR said, as well as “upsell” private information on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (RGC). They are also offering a list of proxies to help protesters bypass censorship in Iran.

The 5,000-strong Arvin group is also using the messaging platform to leak and sell data. Its focus is “on news from the protests in Iran, reports and videos from the streets where the protests are in Iran,” CPR said. They also provide Open VPN services and report on internet status in the country.

Red Blue is another group with 4,000 members and is also using Telegram to hack…

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Police arrest protesters who remained at US-Canada bridge :: WRAL.com

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By ROB GILLIES and COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press

WINDSOR, Ontario — Police moved in to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing on Sunday, ending a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions that has hurt the economy of both nations even as they held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.

Local and national police formed a joint command center in Ottawa, where protests have paralyzed downtown, infuriated residents who are fed up with police inaction and turned up pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The protests have reverberated across the country and beyond, with similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States.

Windsor police said about 12 people were peacefully arrested and seven vehicles were towed just after dawn near the Ambassador Bridge that links their city — and numerous Canadian automotive plants — with Detroit.

“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end,” said Windsor’s Mayor Drew Dilkens, who expressed hope the bridge would reopen Sunday. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.

But the bridge remained closed late Sunday afternoon as a snowstorm hit the area.

Only a few protesters had remained after police on Saturday persuaded demonstrators to move the pickup trucks and cars they had used to block a crossing that sees 25% of all trade between the two countries.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Sunday acknowledged the seemingly peaceful resolution to the demonstration, which it said had “widespread damaging impacts” on the “lives and livelihoods of people” on both sides of the border.

“We stand ready to support our Canadian partners wherever useful in order to ensure the restoration of the normal free flow of commerce can resume,” Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement.

In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what…

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Sudan: Five anti-coup protesters reported dead | News | DW

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Sudanese security forces reportedly used live ammunition and tear gas on protesters on Saturday, killing five people and injuring a number of others.

“One protester was killed in Omdurman by the bullets of the putschist military council,” the Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors said in a statement. 

Two others died in different hospitals, one had also been shot and the other victim is understood to have suffocated as a result of teargas. Two more deaths were reported later on Saturday.

What do we know so far?

Pro-democracy protesters were on the streets of capital Khartoum and nearby Omdurman on Saturday. They were voicing opposition to the military’s formation of a new ruling council that sidelined the civilian coalition.

Witnesses and doctors’ reports conflicted with those of the authorities.

Reuters news agency reported that security forces chased protesters through Omdurman — situated on the western bank of the Nile, just opposite the capital.

Witnesses estimated the Khartoum demonstrations numbered into the tens of thousands, replicated across the country in other cities.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which supports the protests, said the pro-democracy movement was “facing excessive repression using all forms of force including live bullets in several areas of the capital Khartoum.”

The committee said security forces had stormed the Al Arbaeen hospital in Omdurman, beating staff and arresting protesters.

Sudanese police, in contrast, said they did not use live ammunition in the marches while the military said it does not kill peaceful protesters.

Authorities reported that 39 policemen were injured as protesters attacked police stations.

The military regime has cut mobile internet services despite a court order to restore them and phone signals have been disrupted, complicating demonstrations.

Why are the protests taking place?

On October 25, the Sudanese military seized power by dissolving the transitional government and arresting cabinet ministers.

The coup was led by the same man who deposed al-Bashir in 2019, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

On Thursday, military leader Burhan announced a new ruling council with no civilian coalition…

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Protesters face tear gas and bullets to oppose Sudan coup

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  • Protests follow appointment of new ruling council
  • Coup last month upended post-Bashir transition
  • Western states have condemned military takeover

KHARTOUM, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities on Saturday to protest against a military takeover, despite security forces firing tear gas and bullets to disperse them, witnesses and medics said.

One protester was killed by live fire from security forces in Omdurman, across the Nile from central Khartoum, and many others were wounded, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said.

The demonstrations come two days after military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced the formation of a new ruling council that excludes the civilian coalition the military had been sharing power with since 2019.

Sudanese pro-democracy groups condemned the move and vowed to continue their campaign of civil disobedience and protests against the Oct. 25 coup.

Security forces closed bridges on Saturday between central Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North to vehicles and pedestrians, laying barbed wire to block access. Roads to strategic sites were also shut.

As protesters began to gather in the early afternoon around the capital, security forces moved quickly to try to disperse them, firing tear gas and chasing demonstrators down side streets to try to prevent them reaching central meeting points, witnesses said.

“People were surprised that they fired the tear gas so early,” said one protester in Omdurman. Protesters “retreated into the neighbourhood and barricaded the streets and now they’re coming back to the main road.”

Witnesses estimated the number of protesters around Khartoum to be in the tens of thousands.

During previous rallies, including on Oct. 30 when hundreds of thousands turned out, security forces had waited until later in the day before trying to disperse protesters.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is aligned with the protest movement, said demonstrations were “facing excessive repression using all forms of force including live bullets in several areas of the capital Khartoum”.

There was no immediate comment from security forces, but…

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