SpearHead

2023: Software supplies to Bangladesh despite Israeli ban

On January 10, 2023, it became known that advanced Israeli cyber tools for intercepting mobile and Internet traffic were delivered to Bangladesh, despite the corresponding ban.

Improved tracking equipment developed by a company controlled by a former commander of an Israeli intelligence technology unit was sold to the Bangladeshi government in 2022, an investigation published by Haaretz newspaper has found. This is allegedly evidenced by official government documents and international export reports. The deal came despite Israel and Bangladesh having no diplomatic ties.

Israeli cyber tools to intercept mobile and Internet traffic were supplied to Bangladesh, despite the corresponding ban.

It is known that the equipment was sold to the Bangladesh National Telecommunications Monitoring Center (NTMC), which is responsible for surveillance on the Internet, including on social networks. Transmitted systems allow you to intercept calls, text messages and various types of web traffic. It is alleged that the deal was carried out through the Cypriot company Passitora, which is controlled by Tal Dilian, an Israeli businessman and former intelligence commander.

The firm Passitora, under its former name WiSpear, has been implicated in a high-profile surveillance scandal. In an interview with Forbes, Dilian talked about the existence of the SpearHead system, which includes a van with surveillance equipment and special software. This complex allows you to collect data from mobile phones through cellular and Wi-Fi networks, including encrypted WhatsApp messages (owned by Meta, whose activities in Russia are recognized as extremist and prohibited), Facebook chats (also owned by Meta), contact lists, calls and text messages. The range of action is about half a kilometer. SpearHead can be used to inject spyware into computers and smartphones.

The SpearHead system was flown from Switzerland to Bangladesh's capital Dhaka in June 2022, an investigation has found. The supplier was Passitora, and the buyer was NTMC. The cargo weighing 991 kg included interception equipment, operating software and the necessary hardware components (servers, drives, monitors, etc.). The total cost of the complex amounted to $5.7 million.^[1]

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