The Skype internet phone program is seen in New York City, on September 1, 2009. (Getty Images/File)
February 18th, 2014
San Francisco — A lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses Ethiopia of infecting a US man’s computer with “spyware” as part of a campaign to gather intelligence about those critical of the government.
“We have clear evidence of a foreign government secretly infiltrating an American’s computer in America, listening to his calls and obtaining access to a wide swath of his private life,” said attorney Nate Cardozo of Internet rights group Electronic Freedom Foundation.
“The current Ethiopian government has a well-documented history of human rights violations against anyone it sees as political opponents.”
The computer of a US citizen living in the state of Maryland was targeted with malicious software that monitored use and snooped on calls made using Internet telephone service Skype, the suit charges.
Read more.
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Related:
Ethiopian Refugee Wants UK Action Over Hacking (AP)
U.S. Citizen Sues Ethiopia for Using Computer Spyware Against Him (Washington Post)
Ethiopian Government Hacking Ethiopian Journalists in U.S. (The Washington Post)
Report: Ethiopian Government Hacks Journalists in U.S. and Europe (Mashable)
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