The Ethiopian government uses spyware

Chinese- and European-made spyware is enabling Ethiopia to silence dissent

April 7, 2014

by Felix Horne

I met Abdi (not his real name), a 32-year-old primary school teacher from Ethiopia’s Oromia region, last July while in Nairobi. Abdi had been arrested a year earlier in his hometown for organizing a protest against local government corruption. He was already under the eye of Ethiopian security officials because he refused to provide information on the activities of his students to local authorities.

Over the course of two weeks in detention, Abdi was repeatedly beaten and accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which originated in nationalist movements fighting for increased autonomy in the 1960s. The Ethiopian government considers the OLF a terrorist organization and uses the threat of an armed struggle to justify repression of ordinary Oromos, who constitute Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.

The harassment continued after Abdi was released. Eventually, like thousands of other Ethiopians, he felt compelled to flee to Kenya, leaving behind his wife and two children. After some time in Kenya he called home and spoke to his wife, who told him that security officials had been harassing her since he left. That was the last time he spoke to her.

Abdi later learned from neighbors that security officials came to their house hours after his call, demanding to know who was calling her from Kenya and accusing her of being in contact with rebel operatives there. He no longer calls Ethiopia and does not know the whereabouts of his family.

Abdi’s story is not unique. In the last two decades, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have fled their country because of government repression or limited economic opportunities. Most of these migrants, especially those living in neighboring African countries, fear that if they communicate with their families back home, their calls will be traced and their relatives will face repercussions. As new research by Human Rights Watch shows, their fears are well founded. The fear that permeates the lives of many inside Ethiopia has been successfully exported to other countries.

Ethiopian expats, including those living in the United States, have become targets of Addis Ababa’s global espionage.

The state-run Ethio Telecom is the sole provider of phone and Internet services in Ethiopia. The Chinese telecom equipment and systems company ZTE is helping Ethiopia modernize its telecommunications infrastructure. The Ethiopian government uses a Chinese-developed telecom system to monitor and control the communications of its citizens and to silence dissenters both in Ethiopia and abroad. Security officials have unlimited access to the phone records of everyone in the country who owns a phone. During abusive interrogations, security officials often play back recorded phone calls to people in their custody. Those calling or receiving calls from foreign numbers are particularly at risk of reprisals by a government keen to punish those it considers a threat.

But Ethiopia goes even further to monitor dissenting voices outside its borders. The government has acquired and is using commercially available European-made spyware — namely the U.K.- and Germany-based Gamma International’s FinFisher and the Italy-based Hacking Team’s Remote Control System — to monitor dissenters in other countries, effectively extending its surveillance capabilities far beyond its borders. These tools provide security and intelligence agencies with full access to files and activity on an infected target’s computer. They can log keystrokes and passwords and switch on a device’s webcam and microphone, turning a computer anywhere in the world into a listening device. Ethiopian expats, including those living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland, have become targets of this global espionage.

In late 2012, security officials detained the wife of Yohannes Alemu, a Norwegian citizen and member of a banned opposition group, as she was visiting family in Addis Ababa. They questioned her about her husband’s political connections. Then the security officials demanded information from Yohannes via phone and email about his opposition party colleagues. He refused; after 20 days his wife was finally released and returned to Norway.

But the incident did not end there.

One of the emails he received contained an attachment infected with FinFisher spyware. Once he had downloaded this spyware, the Ethiopian security agencies had unfettered access to all the information on his computer.

While people around the world are right to be shocked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass surveillance by the U.S. government, they should also be concerned that repressive governments such as Ethiopia’s are purchasing and using advanced technologies to target independent voices beyond their borders. The export and use of these European-made commercial products remains virtually unregulated. This is particularly worrying given that evidence exists that similar technologies may be in the hands of authoritarian regimes throughout the world.

These technologies enable repressive governments to monitor dissenting voices in other countries — even in countries where privacy rights are stronger and legal protections are in place to limit state-sponsored surveillance.

The United States, European Union and other donors that together provide an estimated $4 billion in annual aid to Ethiopia should take concerted steps to stop this abuse. They should support global efforts to regulate the export and use of such technologies to governments with poor human rights records. African governments should also speak out and make it clear to Ethiopia that it is an infringement on basic rights to use these technologies to spy on citizens outside of Ethiopia’s borders — people who are all too often seeking protection from repression back home.

Felix Horne is an Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch and co-author of a new report, “‘They Know Everything We Do’: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia.”

Source: Al Jazeera

Ethiopian Muslims protested in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

TPLF tapping your phone & internet

March 26, 2014

Ethiopia uses foreign kit to spy on opponents – HRW

Ethiopia’s government is using imported technology to spy on the phones and computers of its perceived opponents, a Human Rights Watch report says.

The New York-based rights group accuses the government of trying to silence dissent, using software and kit sold by European and Chinese firms.

The report says the firms may be guilty of colluding in oppression.

An Ethiopian government spokesman, quoted by AFP, dismissed the report as a part of a smear campaign.

“There is nothing new to respond to,” Ethiopian Information Minister Redwan Hussein told the agency.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says its report is based on more than 100 interviews with victims of abuses and former intelligence officials, conducted between September 2012 and February this year.

Rights groups frequently accuse the Ethiopian government of cracking down on opposition activists and journalists.

The government denies the claims.

‘Overseas surveillance’

All phone and internet connections in Ethiopia are provided by a state-owned company. According to HRW, this has given the government unchecked power to monitor communications.

“Security officials have virtually unlimited access to the call records of all telephone users in Ethiopia,” the report said. “They regularly and easily record phone calls without any legal process or oversight.”

Recorded conversations are also alleged to have featured in abusive interrogations of suspected dissidents.

The technology used by to monitor the communications is said to have been provided by companies based in China, the UK, Italy and Germany.

“The foreign firms that are providing products and services that facilitate Ethiopia’s illegal surveillance are risking complicity in rights abuses,” HRW’s business and human rights director, Arvind Ganesan, said.

According to the report, the government has extended its surveillance to Ethiopians living overseas.

Ethiopians living in the UK and the US have accused the authorities in Addis Ababa of planting spy software on their computers.

Both countries have been urged to investigate the claims, on the grounds that they may have violated domestic laws against invasions of privacy.

HRW says the firms that sell surveillance technology to governments also have a duty to ensure that their products are not helping to suppress human rights.

“The makers of these tools should take immediate steps to address their misuse,” Mr Ganesan said.

Source: BBC 

የሚሊዮኖች ድምፅ ለመሬት ባለቤትነት” በሚል መሪቃል በደሴ የተደረገው የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቋል

Millions of voices for freedom – UD

የሚሊዮኖች ድምፅ ለመሬት ባለቤትነት” በሚል መሪቃል በደሴ የተደረገው የተቃውሞ ሰልፍ በተሳካ ሁኔታ ተጠናቋል፡፡ በስፍራው የሚገኙት የአንድነት ፓርቲ ከፍተና አመራሮችና የዞን አመራሮች በሰልፉ ለተሳተፈው የደሴ ህዝብ ምስጋና አቅርበዋል፡፡ #Dese #UDJ “እድሜ ለአንድነት አስተነፈሰን” የደሴ ነዋሪ.

የደሴው ሰልፍ በተሳካ ሁኔታ እየተካሔደ ቢሆንም የአዲስ አበባው ዋና ጽ/ቤት ከፍተኛ በሆነ የፖሊስ ሀይል ተከቧል፡፡

ተቃውሞ ሰልፍ ላይ ከሚስተጋቡ መፈክሮች ውስጥ
- መሬት ለህዝብ ይመለስ
- ጭቆና በቃን
- ድል የህዝብ ነው
- በግፍ የታሰሩ ይፈቱ

- አንድነት ኃይል ነው
- የፖለቲካ እስረኞች ይፈቱ

source zehabesha 

The Double Digit Growth Miracle in Ethiopia

April 4, 2014

Dear Greg Toulmin
Country Program Coordinator for Ethiopia
World Bank

Greg Toulmin

I heard a clip of a panel discussion you participated hosted by Woman’s National Club on April 1 in Washington D.C. The discussion was about strategic importance of Ethiopia in Africa. Your claim of an economic miracle under the current regime of Ethiopia compared to the previous regimes of Haile Selassie and Mengistu is nonsense to say the least.

The current regime has been showered with foreign aids yearly of 2 billion alone from USA and from other donors close to the same amount yearly. That is 1000 times of that Haile Selassie/Mengistu. The remittance is close to 3 billion yearly. Therefore comparing the current regime with the previous is inaccurate.

Capital estimated around 12 billion has left Ethiopia illegally in the last decade alone according to independent investigators. The 99 percent of Ethiopians are still living under one dollar a day. So much for the growth.

Food, water, sanitation, electricity, transportation and health for the majority is impossible to get. Addis Ababa residents are coming out this coming Sunday for the day of rage, “YeErita Ken” demanding the basics of life. The double digit miracle is going to be challenged in public.

Your defense of World Bank for its role in Ethiopia is understandable. The good thing is Ethiopia has many capable “Ambassadors” to challenge those like you who underestimate our people or take us as “stupid” as one of the panelists correctly put it.There is no miracle of growth in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Diaspora has grown one million times in the last two decades alone. Educated and uneducated are living legally or illegally because there is No Miracle of Growth to be part of. The Growth is Stupid !!!!

                                                 source ECADF 

የሰው ለሰው ድራማ 6 ሚሊዮን ብር የት ደረሰ? * በአካውንቱ ውስጥ 78 ብር ብቻ ነው የተገኘው

በርናባስ
(ለሎሚ መጽሔት እንደጻፈው)
በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ጥበብ በሁለት አደገኛ ሁኔታ ውስጥ ትገኛለች፡፡ የመጀመሪያው በአሁን ሰዓት ደራሲዎችም ሆኑ የጥበብ ባለሙያዎች አዲስ ነገር ይዘው መምጣት ካለመቻላቸው ጋር በተያያዘ በህብረተሰቡ ዘንድ ቦታ እያጣ መምጣቱ ሲሆን፣ ሁለተኛው ደረጃ ደግሞ ጥበብን ንግድ ያደረጉ አርቲስቶች መበራከት በራሳቸው አንገት ላይ ሸምቀቆ በማሰር ጥበቡን እየገደሉት ይገኛሉ፡፡ በአሁን ወቅት ምናልባትም ጥበብ ያለ ንግድ የታባቱ ያለ የጥበብ ሥራን ከተመለከትን ያለምንም ጥርጥር ‹‹ሠው ለሠው›› ድራማን በግንባር ቀደምትነት ማየት ይቻላል፡፡ ሲጀመር በርካቶች ለመመልከት የተሻሙበት ዛሬ ላይ ግን ‹‹ይህ ነገር አያልቅም እንዴ?›› ተብሎ የተለያየ ሂስ እየተሰጠበት ይገኛል፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ የቴሌቪዥን ድራማ ታሪክ ውስጥ እንደ ሠው ለሠው የዘመኑ ማለቂያ አጥቶና የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥንም መረን የለቀቀ ዕድል የሰጠው የለም፡፡
መቼም በየሣምንቱ እንደምንመለከተው ከሆነ የሠው ለሠው ድራማ ሃሣብ አልቆበት እዛው በዛው መዳከሩ ብቻ ሣይሆን፣ ገንዘብ የማባከንና የመዝናናትንም ነገር እየተመለከትን ነው፡፡ ከድራማው መውረድ ጐን ለጐን ካላስፈላጊ ታሪኮችም ጋር ተደማምሮ አሁን በተለይ ተዋናዮቹ እራስን የማዝናናት ጊዜ ላይ የደረሱ ይመስላል፡፡ ይህ ለምን እንደሆነ ምናልባትም ለሌሎች ባይገባም መስፍን ጌታቸውና ሠለሞን አለሙ ግን ይህ ለምን እንደሚደረግ ልባቸው ያውቃል፡፡
የሠው ለሠው ድራማ ሲጠናቀቅ ፋይሉ ያልተዘጋ የክስ ሂደት ከመኖሩም በላይ በእነርሱ ላይ ክስ የመሠረቱት ወገኖች ሂሳብ ሊካፈሉ የሚችሉበት ሁኔታ በመኖሩ ከወዲሁ ብሩን በተለያየ ምክንያት በማባከን ‹‹የለንም›› ካሉ የከሳሾቻቸውን አንጀት የማሳረርና በዚህ መልኩ የማምለጥ አጋጣሚም እያመቻቹ ነው፡፡ አንድ በውጭ ሃገር የዳይሬክትንግ ትምህርት የተከታተለ ባለሙያ ሠው ለሠው ድራማን አብረን ስናይ፣ ‹‹ይህ ድራማ ማስታወቂያ ባይኖረው እኔ ዳይሬክት ባደርገው በአንድ ምሽት ላይ የሚታየው ከሰባት ደቂቃ አያልፍም ነበር›› ሲል አስገርሞኛል፡፡ በዚህ መልኩ በባለሙያ ሳይቀር የተገመገመው ሠው ለሠው አሁን በባንክ ውስጥ ምን ያህል ገንዘብ የተገኘበት ይመስላችኋል?
78 ብር /ሠባ ስምንት ብር/ ምናልባት ዓይናችሁን እያሻችሁ ደግማችሁ ደጋግማችሁ ልታነቡና ልታስቡት ትችሉ ይሆናል፡፡ ብዙም ሩቅ መሄድ የሚያስፈልገው አይደለም ወይም የጽህፈት ስህተትም አይደለም፡፡ ባለፈው ሠሞን የፊልሙ ዳይሬክተር በአጋጣሚ ባገኛቸው ሚዲያዎች ላይ ሁሉ ‹‹ሠው ለሠው አትራፊ አይደለም›› እያለ ሲባዝን ነበር፡፡ ይህ የእርሱ ድርጊት ወይም አባባል ግን ምናልባትም በሂደት የሠው ለሠው አካውንት ሲታይ ይህ 78 ብር ይፋ ይሆንና ከመጋለጥና ህዝቡንም ግራ ማጋባቱ ስለማይቀር ሳልቀደም ልቅደም በሚል መልኩ የህብረተሰቡን አዕምሮ ለመለወጥ ወይም ተጠቃሚው እነርሱ ሳይሆኑ የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌብዥን ነው የሚለው ግንዛቤ ለማዘጋጀት ሆን ብሎ ያደረገው ነው፡፡
እንደ መረጃዎቹ ጠቋሚነት ከሆነ የሠው ለሠው ድራማ ዳይሬክተሮች ባለፉት ሦስት ዓመታት እንዲሁም ወራትም ተጨምሮበት ከኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን ከ6 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ ወስደዋል፡፡ ይህ ብቻም አይደለም፤ በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ድራማው ሲቀረጽ ወደ ክልሎችም የሚወጣበት አጋጣሚም ነበር፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያትም የክልሉ መስተዳድር ለሠው ለሠው ዳይሬክተሮች በስፖንሰር መልክ የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ያደርጋሉ፡፡ ከዛም ሌላ ከዋሪት ቁሳቁሶች /ፈርኒቸርም/ ተበርክቶላቸዋል፡፡
በዚህ መልኩ ታላቅ ገቢ ማግኘት የቻለው ድራማ እንዴት በባንክ ሂሣብ ውስጥ 78 ብር ሊገኝ ቻለ? ከተባለ ግን ከዚህ ጀርባ ከድራማው መጠናቀቅ በኋላ ካለው ክስ ጋር ተያይዞ ምንም ገንዘብ ባለማስቀረት ወይም እነርሱ ተጠቃሚ ላለማድረግ ሲባል ዳይሬክተሮቹ ገንዘቦቹን በተለያዩ ባንኮች ውስጥ እንዲቀመጥ አድርገዋል፡፡ እንደሚታወቀው የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን ለአንድ ድራማ ከዚህ ቀደም ከአንድ ዓመት በላይ እንዲጓዝ ዕድሉን የሰጠበት ሁኔታ አጋጥሞ አይታወቅም፡፡ የሰው ለሠው የዚህን ያህል ዓመት እንዲጓዝ የተፈቀደው በምን ምክንያት ነው? ይህ ብቻም አይደለም፡፡ ኢ.ቲ.ቪ ከዚህ ቀደም በድራማዎች ላይ የተለያዩ የመጠጥ ምርቶችን በምስል ተቀርጸው ተካተው ሲመጡ በግምገማ እንዲወጡ አሊያም ምርቶቹ ሳይታዩ መቀረጽ አለባቸው የሚል ፖሊሲ ነበረው፡፡ አሁን በሰው ለሠው ድራማ ግን ሁሉም ምርቶች እንደልብ እየተቀረጹው ይገባሉ፡፡ ምናልባት በኢቲቪ በኩልም ከነመስፍንና ሠለሞን ጋር በጋራ በመሆን የሚቀጠቀም አለ፡፡ የሠው ለሠው የዳይሬክተሮች የአስናቀን መረን የለቀቀ የዘራፊ ተግባር እያሳዩን ነው፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ድራማ ታሪክ ውስጥ የድራማ ተዋናይ ለመመረጥ ‹‹በጡት ማስያዣና ፓንት ፎቶ ተነስታችሁ አምጡ›› ብለው የጠየቁት መስፍንና ሠለሞን በመሆን በግንባር ቀደምትነት ይጠቀሳሉ፡፡ አንዱ ለድራማ መመዘኛ ዲያሎግ በቃል የመያዝ ብቃት የመጀመሪያው መመዘኛ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ ለሚፈለገው ገጸ ባህሪም የምትሆነውን ተዋንያን በርካታ ገምጋሚዎች ባሉበት ይመረጣል እንጂ ‹‹በፓንትና ጡት ማስያዣ የተነሣችሁትን ፎቶ አምጡ›› ብሎ መጠየቅ ምናልባት ‹‹ምን እየተሰራ ነው?›› ብሎ የሚያስጠይቅም ነው፡፡ በዚህ ጉዳይ ዙሪያም ፎቶ ከተጠየቁት ሴቶች መካከል ወደፊት በስፋት የምናየው ነጥቦች ይኖራል፡፡ የሠው ለሠው ድራማ ከተጀመረ በኋላ ሁለት ዓመታት ያህል ‹‹ሎሚ ፒክቸርስ በሚል ሲሰራ የቆየው ባልታደሰ ፈቃድ ነው›› ቢባልም በኋላ ላይ ነገሮች እየከረሩና በህግ የተያዘ በመሆኑ ለውጥ ተደረገ፡፡ የሠው ለሠው የዳይሬክተሮች በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ከራሳቸው ተዋናዮች ጋር የሚጋጩበትም አጋጣሚ ተፈጥሮ ነበር፡፡ ከዚህም ከፍ ሲል ከተዋንያኖቹ ጋር በፍርድ ቤት ድረስ እስከመካሰስ ተዳርሰው ነበር፡፡ የክሳቸው መጠን ከመብዛቱ የተነሳ በሣምንት አንድ ቀን የግድ ችሎት ላይ ለመገኘት ተገደዋል፡፡
ባለፈው ሠሞን የኢትዮጵያ ቴሌብዥን ‹‹የሠው ለሠው ድራማ እስከ መጋቢት 30/2006 መጠናቀቅ አለበት›› በሚል ማሳሰቢያ የሰጠ ሲሆን፣ ዳይሬክተሮቹ ግን ‹‹ይህ የጊዜ ገደብ ፈጽሞ ሊጨመርልን ይገባል›› ሲሉ ጠይቀዋል፡፡ በርግጥ አሁን የድራማው ታሪክ ቢያልቅም ዳይሬክተሮቹ በግድ ታሪኩን እየለጠጡ የአንድ ሰው መጨረሻ የማታይበት እንጂ የዚህን ያህል የተለየ ነገር ታይቶበት አይደለም፡፡ ዳይሬክተሮቹን ከአስናቀ መጨረሻ ይልቅ ያጓጓውና ድራማው ባለለቀ እያሰኘ ያለው ዋናው ጉዳይ ከሠው ለሠው የሚገኘው ደለብ ያለ ጥቅም ነው፡፡ ለተዋናዮቹ አንድም ልብስ የማይገዛውና የተለየ ክፍያ የማያደርጉት የሠው ለሠው ዳይሬክተሮች ይህንን ድራማ ለማቆየት ሲሉ አሁን ደግሞ ወደ ‹‹ልማታዊ ቋንቋዎች›› ገብተዋል፡፡ ገንዘብ ይገኛል፤ ገንዘቡ ግን የት እንደሚገባ የሚታወቅ ነገር የለም፡፡ ሠው ለሠው በክብር ተጀምሮ በውርደት ሊጠናቀቅ የቀረው ጊዜም ቢኖር የቀናት ጊዜ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ከዛ በኋላ ግን ከቴሌቪዥን ጀርባ የተፈፀመው የመስፍንና የሠለሞን ተግባር ይበልጥ ትኩረት የሚስብ ይሆናል፡፡ በርካቶች ያዘኑባቸውንና ያለቀሱባቸው ዳይሬክተሮች ዛሬ ላይ የደለበውን ገንዘብ ይዘው የተወሰኑትን በጥቅም ለመግዛት ቢሞክሩም፣ ይህ ነገር ያለቀለትና ምናልባትም ሠው ለሠው ከዚህ በላይ እንዳይዘልቅ የሚል ውሳኔ እስከመስጠት ተደርሷል፡፡ እናም 78 ብር አካውንቱ ላይ የተገኘውን ከ6 ሚሊየን ብር በላይ ያሸሹት የሠው ለሠው የዳይሬክተሮችን መጨረሻ በቅርብ የምናየው ይሆናል፡፡    source ZEHABESHA  

How Ethiopia Spies on Its Diaspora Abroad

April 1, 2014

European companies sell surveillance technologies to abusive foreign regimes.

The Wall Street Journal

Many Europeans are upset over revelations that the United States government spies on them. But European companies are selling surveillance tools and know-how to other governments, allowing them to spy abroad. Their customers include some of the world’s most abusive governments and at least one of them—Ethiopia—is targeting its diaspora population in Europe. The results extend beyond outrage over privacy violations: They put people in danger.

The global trade in this powerful “spyware” is virtually unregulated and that needs to change. Using digital technology to monitor the Ethiopian diaspora in Europe, the regime in Addis Ababa has brought its abuses right into Europe’s midst. The EU needs to regulate the sale of such technology, at least to governments with such questionable human-rights records.

Inside Ethiopia, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government abuses mobile and Internet networks to monitor opposition groups and journalists, and to silence dissenting voices. Using Chinese-made telecom equipment, the Ethiopian security agencies have nearly unfettered access to civilians’ phone records and recorded calls. Taped calls have been played back to people being interrogated by security officials and used against them in trials under the government’s deeply flawed antiterrorism law.

For mobile or Internet users in Ethiopia, the violation of the right to privacy is not an abstract harm. One Ethiopian man, who asked only to be identified as “Jirata,” was once a member of a registered political party; he now struggles to survive as a refugee in Kenya.

“I was becoming well known and respected in my political party and one day security officials came and arrested me and showed me list of phone calls I had made,” Jirata recalled to me in a recent interview. “They demanded to know who the foreign numbers were. I told them everything—I had nothing to hide. They began to beat me with a rubber whip, demanding I confess to belonging to the [banned] Oromo Liberation Front. I was kept in solitary confinement for three months and pulled out each night to be beaten.”

His story is too common. Thousands of Ethiopians have fled threats to their lives and security, and many have found asylum in Europe. Now Ethiopian spy agencies are trying to silence any independent criticism of government policy by extending their reach abroad, with the aid of advanced surveillance tools designed and sold by several European companies. These tools give intelligence officials access to files, emails and activity on a target’s computer. They can log keystrokes and passwords and remotely turn on a device’s webcam and microphone—effectively turning a computer into a listening device.

Yohannes Alemu, a former refugee and now a Norwegian citizen who supports an Ethiopian opposition party that the government has banned, found out too late about the spyware. In late 2012, when Mr. Alemu’s wife and two children were visiting family in Ethiopia, security officials detained and questioned her about her husband’s political connections. They sent Mr. Alemu emails demanding more information about his opposition-party associates. He refused, and after 20 days his wife was finally released and returned to Norway.

That was not the end of the incident.

One of the government emails Mr. Alemu received contained an attachment infected with spyware known as FinFisher. FinFisher GmbH, based in Munich, did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s requests for comment regarding the use of its product by Ethiopian authorities.

Once Mr. Alamu’s computer was secretly infected, the Ethiopian security agencies had unfettered access to it. After Mr. Alemu unwittingly forwarded the infected emails to other people, the spyware gave Ethiopian security agencies potentially unfettered access to their computers, too. Researchers at Citizen Lab, a Toronto-based center focused on security and human rights online, confirms that at least one of Mr. Alamu’s contacts’ computers was monitored as a result. Different spyware developed in Italy has been used to target the computers of others in the diaspora.

Such sales are currently perfectly legal, but European companies nonetheless risk complicity in human-rights abuses when they provide products and services that facilitate Ethiopia’s surveillance. Ethiopians living in the U.K., the U.S., Norway, and Switzerland are among those known to have been targeted with Addis Ababa’s spyware. Citizen Lab has documented evidence of use of these tools in over 25 countries.

In December, the 41 member states participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement—a multilateral export-control regime for dual-use technologies—agreed to regulate the export of “intrusion software” and “IP network surveillance systems.” This development signals growing consensus that the trade in powerful surveillance tools being used to violate rights should be reined in.

But much more is needed. The European Commission should lead efforts to regulate the export of such technology to governments with poor human rights records, and to implement the new Wassenaar controls without delay. Until then, Yohannes Alemu will not be the last victim of Ethiopian cyber-surveillance.

Mr. Horne is an Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch and co-author of a new report, “‘They Know Everything We Do’: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia.”

source .... ECADF