A whole bunch of downed government surveillance programs are about to go back online
Government surveillance software maker Hacking Team has promised customers it will have its cybersecurity services back online and safe to use shortly.
Hacking Team called for customers — which include government agencies, intelligence services, and law enforcement — to stop using its surveillance products following a massive data breach that saw attackers leak 400GB of data, allegedly stolen from it, online last week.
The data dump included everything from software vulnerabilities within Hacking Team products, to email and customer records.
Hacking Team chief operating officer David Vincenzetti, has since issued a new statement promising customers they will soon be able to restart their surveillance operations.
“We at Hacking Team are now dedicated to restoring the ability of law enforcement to fight crime hidden in the new encrypted digital world,” he said.
“Our top priority here has been to develop an update to allow our clients to quickly secure their current surveillance infrastructure. We expect to deliver this update immediately.”
He added the firm has taken undisclosed measures to secure its systems to ensure hackers cannot steal more data.
“We have already isolated our internal systems so that additional data cannot be exfiltrated outside of Hacking Team. A totally new internal infrastructure is being build [sic] at this moment to keep our data safe,” he said.
The two main concerns over the leak: Hackers already using the software exploits, and Hacking Team's customer base
Vincenzetti also moved to quell concerns about hackers' use of Hacking Team software exploits and the less than pristine customer list leaked during the initial attack.
Numerous security companies including Trend Micro and FireEye reported criminal hackers have begun using the Team Hacking exploits detailed in the leaks since they were published online.
Questions about Hacking Team’s customer list arose when leaked documents suggested the firm had dealings with some of the countries hosting the terrorist groups it references in its statement.
Specifically, the leaks led to concerns Hacking Team is selling its surveillance products to countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, and Russia, which international organisations, such as the United Nations, NATO, European Parliament, and the US have blacklisted.
Addressing the first concern Vincenzetti said Hacking Team has worked to stop criminal and terrorist groups using its products and it is now “extremely unlikely that this obsolete code can be used to surveil cell phones, mobile devices or computer communications.”
On the second concern, Vincenzetti claimed Hacking Team's dealings with the suspect nations happened before they were blacklisted by the international community.
“Our technology has always been sold lawfully and when circumstances have changed, we have ended relationships with clients such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Russia,” he said.
Despite the company’s claims to have fixed its systems, Hacking Team’s website is still suffering undisclosed issues since the hack.
A Hacking Team spokesman told Business Insider the issues are affecting its ability to publish content onto its site, but “are not attack related.”
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