Many well known cyberintelligence companies like FinFisher of Germany and NGO of Israel continue to shock the world with eerie innovations on hacking. The lesser known Mollitiam of Spain claims that they have technology far superior to the most notorious hacking tools.
A third party leaked information pertaining to Mollitiam’s tools online, and the detailed papers seem to suggest that Mollitiam’s tools are among the most insidious known to exist. If these tools are out in the world and are actually what they seem to be, people have legitimate reason to worry.
What We Know About These Tools
Given the nature of this information leak and the lack of clear origin for the information, it cannot be declared with certainty that these tools are exactly as they’re made out to be. Mollitiam will likely neither confirm nor deny the legitimacy of these documents. It’s best to assume that they’re mostly real.
The leak reports that Mollitiam has developed two tools, referred to as “Night Crawler” and “Invisible Man”. It does not distinguish the difference between these two tools, and it’s possible that they’re a single tool with minor variations.
The details suggest that the tools are capable of complete remote surveillance, offering access to a user’s private files, camera, and microphone while tracking the user’s location and recording all of their keystrokes.
Recording keystrokes covertly is one of the most threatening aspects of the tool. This means it could capture credit card information when bills are paid or purchases are made, and it can capture usernames and passwords to every site or app the user logs into. It would also render encrypted messaging ineffective, as the text would be taken from the phone in real time as it’s being typed by the user.
The information claims that these tools are backed by “invisible low stealth” technology and built to utilize very little data and battery power, which would make them nearly impossible for infected users to detect.
Who is Using Mollitiam’s Tools?
Mollitiam’s technology has been used in the past by foreign governments who want to spy on journalists or activists. The Columbian government uses Mollitiam’s spying technology for years, and security officials in Peru and Brazil have also purchased technology from Mollitiam. It seems that Columbia is the only country that has publicly purchased Invisible Man, but most governments wouldn’t be inclined to reveal what spying tools they’re using.
We do know that the European Union’s Regional Development Fund is partially subsidizing Mollitiam’s development of a tool that will aggregate and analyze social media data to automatically generate valuable surveillance intelligence. This tool would directly target all members of the public, rather than targets individually selected by government agencies.
The European Union won’t comment on why they want this technology or what they intend to do with it. They’re fearing backlash from human rights organizations, which they’re receiving regardless of how much or how little they choose to say.
The EU preemptively issued regulations designed, in their words, to prevent human rights violations and threats to security. They maintain that they’re against the improper use of surveillance technology. This begs a larger question: when would it ever be proper to use mass social media surveillance technology on the entire world?
Privacy is a Right
Tools like those created by Mollitiam endanger everyone’s privacy. When these tools are abused by governments who want to spy on their population, or by hackers who want to extort people, everyone suffers. It’s not a possibility – it’s an inevitability. Mollitiam’s spyware has already been misused by bad actors. It will happen again. TorGuard VPN recognizes that privacy is a right. Everyone should be free to access the internet without fear of unlawful surveillance from third party companies, so long as they aren’t harming or encouraging the harm of someone else. The internet is a place where people go to access information, including sensitive information like medical records and financial transactions. It’s not a place where people expect their every move to be observed by strangers. TorGuard VPN is built to keep you safe.