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Hack of Egyptian presidential candidate’s iPhone tied to tech firm Sandvine

September 27, 2023/in Internet Security

Attempts to hack the iPhone of a presidential candidate in Egypt have been linked to the computer networking company Sandvine Inc., whose equipment has previously been used by Belarus and other countries to censor the internet.

Ahmed Eltantawy, a prominent opposition politician, was repeatedly targeted with spyware between May and September after he announced his plans to run in Egypt’s 2024 presidential elections, according to an analysis from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. After conducting a forensic examination of the device, the researchers concluded with “high confidence” that the Egyptian government was behind the attempted hacks.

His phone blocked the hacking attempts because it was in a “lockdown mode,” but it turned out he had been successfully infected two years earlier with a spyware known as Predator, manufactured by North Macedonian surveillance technology firm Cytrox, the researchers found. That hack was carried out via a text message containing a link to a Predator website, according to the researchers.

In the attempted hacks, Eltantawy was lured into clicking links contained in fake security alerts that purported to be from the messaging service WhatsApp. His phone was silently redirected to a malicious website, and spyware was supposed to be “injected” onto his phone with the help of technology sold by Sandvine, according to Citizen Lab’s report.

“The use of mercenary spyware to target a senior member of a country’s democratic opposition after they had announced their intention to run for president is a clear interference in free and fair elections,” Citizen Lab wrote in its report.

Sandvine “does not make, sell or collaborate with spyware or malware vendors,” according to an emailed statement provided to Bloomberg, which also said its products were not “capable of injecting malware or spyware.” The statement referred instead to a technique called “packet redirection,” which it said was a capability “sold by all…

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Hack of Egyptian Politician’s iPhone Tied to Tech Firm Sandvine

September 26, 2023/in Internet Security

(Bloomberg) — A hack that compromised the iPhone of a presidential candidate in Egypt has been linked to the computer networking company Sandvine Inc., whose equipment has previously been used by Belarus and other countries to censor the internet.

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Ahmed Eltantawy, a prominent opposition politician, had his phone breached between May and September after he announced his plans to run in Egypt’s 2024 presidential elections, according to an analysis from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. After conducting a forensic examination of the device, the researchers concluded with “high confidence” that the Egyptian government was behind the hack.

Eltantawy’s phone was infected with a spyware known as Predator, manufactured by North Macedonian surveillance technology firm Cytrox, the researchers found. He was lured into clicking links contained in fake security alerts that purported to be from the messaging service WhatsApp. His phone was silently redirected to a malicious website, and spyware was “injected” onto his phone with the help of technology sold by Sandvine, according to Citizen Lab’s report.

Sandvine “does not make, sell or collaborate with spyware or malware vendors,” according to an emailed statement provided to Bloomberg, which also said its products were not “capable of injecting malware or spyware.” The statement referred instead to a technique called “packet redirection,” which it said was a capability “sold by all major vendors in the space and used millions of times a day.”

“Sandvine makes products for telecom companies that enable the internet to function and to ensure that citizens have high quality access to information worldwide,” according to the statement.

Representatives from Cytrox and the Egyptian government didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Sandvine, originally founded in Canada, was acquired by San Francisco-based private equity firm Francisco Partners and combined with Procera Networks in 2017, in a deal worth $444 million. The company makes equipment, known as “deep packet inspection” technology, that can be used to manage massive flows of internet traffic passing between networks. The…

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Orlando tech expert says Las Vegas level hotel hack could happen here

September 16, 2023/in Internet Security

ORLANDO, Fla. – Danny Jenkins dropped his credit card while checking into his hotel, leaving it stuck behind the front desk.

The employee generously let the former ethics hacker behind the counter, next to her computer. Jenkins grabbed his card, but he said he could have got a lot more.

“I’m not a cyber criminal … I was able to physically touch four USB ports on that computer. If I would have plugged something in, like a rubber ducky, which is a hacking device — I could’ve gained access to their network,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins, CEO and co-founder of ThreatLocker, an Orlando-based cyber security firm weighed in on the recent cyber attack in Las Vegas resorts and casinos. Jenkins said, this million dollar attack could easily have happened here, if it didn’t already.

The affected casinos and resorts in Sin City were not taken down from a rubber ducky, but from a “social engineering attack on an outsourced IT support vendor used by the company,” according to SEC filings from Cesars Entertainment.

Jenkins said billions of records were extracted and are being held ransom by the hackers — information such as credit card and social security numbers are at risk.

Meanwhile, Jenkins said ransomware cyber attacks happen everyday in Orlando, but it may not be known as it is not required by law for companies to disclose it when it occurs.

“Everyday hundreds of businesses in Orlando get hit by ransomware attacks, sometimes they are smaller and they pay $20,000 and sometimes they are bigger and they pay $20 million to get their data back,” Jenkins said.

Overall, when going on vacation Jenkins said to put freezes on your credit or debit cards, as this doesn’t cost anything to do.

On the other hand, for companies, he suggests reading up on the guide created by the Center for Internet Security and to make sure employees have the proper training.

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