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OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Despite having no diplomatic relations, Israel is reported to have sold advanced cyber tools to Bangladesh to intercept mobile and internet traffic.
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According to multiple media reports, the spying technology tolls were sold to the Interior Ministry, internal security agency and armed forces of Bangladesh via Cyprus.
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Bangladesh is the third-largest Muslim country in the world, and does not recognize Israel. The two countries have no diplomatic relations, and until 2021, all Bangladeshi passports had “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel” written on them.
Reports revealed that advanced surveillance equipment, developed by a company controlled by the former commander of Israeli intelligence’s technology unit, was sold last year to the government of Bangladesh, official government documents and international export records show, despite Bangladesh not being on Israel’s list of countries that such technology may be sold to – and despite its consistently poor human rights record.
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The equipment, which is used to intercept mobile and internet traffic, was sold to the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center, or NTMC, an arm of the Bangladeshi Interior Ministry responsible for tracking internet and social media use inside the country, as well as for online censorship and eavesdropping on citizens.
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Passitora, a firm registered in Cyprus, is controlled by Tal Dilian, an Israeli businessman and former intel commander. Under its previous name WiSpear, it was involved in a scandal that began with a boastful interview Dilian gave to Forbes, in which he revealed the existence of the company’s SpearHead system, which includes a van equipped with surveillance equipment and tracking software, that gathers data from mobile phones via cellular and Wi-Fi networks, including encrypted WhatsApp messages, Facebook chats, contact lists, calls and text messages within a radius of about half a kilometer. A presentation on WiSpear claims the system can be used to inject spyware on computers and mobile phones within its range.
