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Leaked documents shed light on FinFisher govt spyware
Sales brochures and presentations leaked online have shed further light on the FinFisher malware and spyware toolkit that is thought to be used by law enforcement agencies worldwide.
FinFisher is made by the Anglo-German Gamma International and is marketed to law enforcement agencies arould the world. It is also known as FinSpy and the sales presentation traces its origins to BackTrack Linux, an open source penetration testing Linux distribution.
The spyware can record screen shots, Skype chats, operate built-in web cams and microphones on computers and is able to capture a large range of user data.
Last year, an internet scan by a security company showed up FinFisher control nodes in eleven countries, including Australia. The malware has been analysed [pdf] by the Citizen Lab project in which the University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs and the Canada Centre for Global Studies participate in.
In July this year, the Australia Federal Police turned down a Freedom of Information Act request from the director of the OpenAustralia Foundation, Henare Degan, about the use of FinFisher by the country's top law enforcement agency.
The spyware runs on all versions of Windows newer than Windows 2000, and can infect computers via USB drivers, drive-by web browser exploits or with the help of local internet providers that inject the malware when users visit trusted sites such as Google Gmail or YouTube.
The FinSpy Mobile versions works on Blackberry, Apple IOS, Google Android and Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Windows Phone operating systems, the documents claim. On these, it can record incoming and outgoing calls, track location with cellular ID and GPS data, and surveillance by making silent calls and more.
According to the documents found by security firm F-Secure, the FinIntrusion portable hacking kit can break encryption and record all traffic, and steal users' online banking and social media credentials.
Another apparent sales presentation from 2008 by German governmental security company Elaman shows three versions of FinFisher, two of which run on USB sticks, and a third which requires CD-ROM discs.
According to the Elaman brochure, a FinFisher notebook was developed around 2008 with 500GB of storage for captures, along with an HTTP proxy for interception.
Elaman FinFisher surveillance malware brochure.
