A report called “Mapping the Supply of Surveillance Technologies to Africa” has been published and details the state of surveillance by governments in some African countries including Ghana. In the report, it notes that Ghana authorities acquired spyware called Pegasus from NSO Group, an Israeli company, for US$5.5 million in 2016.
About Pegasus
Pegasus is a powerful spyware that can remotely access a mobile phone’s contents and location information and use its functions such as the microphone and camera to generate live feeds.
An advanced version of the Pegasus spyware can secretly install itself on the target’s phone without the target needing to click a link; all that is needed is access to the phone through a vulnerable application
Digging Deeper
The NSO Group claimed that the Pegasus software was never operational in Ghana but there has been evidence pointing to the contrary as some of its employees confessed to having trained Ghanaian officials on how to use the spyware.
Some Ghanaian activists have also alleged that they, alongside journalists and political opposition, were the targets of the spyware.
With the revelation, the Government of Ghana tried former government officials for their roles in procuring the spyware, and those found guilty were jailed.
Use of Other Spyware Software
Freedom House group also cited a report which claimed former director of Ghana’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, confirmed that the country’s security forces had access to Israeli company Cellebrite’s digital forensics, a tool she stated was used for decrypting encrypted devices.
The Government of Ghana claimed that the hacking tool was a gift from the US, UK, and Interpol.
In the report, the authors noted that Ghana had also acquired spyware technology from two other Israeli companies, Quadream and Mer Group as well as telecommunication interception technology from an unnamed Swiss company.
The details of these technologies and their costs are shrouded in secrecy.
Smart City Project And Correlation To Surveillance
The report also noted that Ghana is implementing a safe city project, the Integrated National Security Communications Enhancement Network (ALPHA) project which will incorporate the use of facial recognition CCTV cameras.
These CCTV cameras are being installed around Accra, Ghana’s capital city, its regional capitals, entry ports, and other state infrastructure, and are powered by Chinese company Huawei’s facial recognition AI.
The Government of Ghana signed a contract with Beijing Everyway Traffic & Lighting Technology and Huawei Technologies in 2012 for Phase 1 to install 800 CCTV cameras. The contract was worth US$176 million. The contract for Phase 2 of the project, to install 8,400 CCTV cameras, was signed in 2018 with Phase 2 of the project financed with US$200m from the ExportImport Bank of China and US$35.5m from Barclays Bank of Ghana.
Other components of the project include the installation of 50 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) devices at checkpoint sites, expansion of an existing data centre, and establishment of a backup data centre, a video transmission network, and an intelligent video analysis system.
Huawei maintains that its surveillance system is for public safety and improved security but there have been reports from Uganda that the same Huawei AI-powered facial recognition technology was used to target for arrest hundreds of supporters of opposition politician Bobi Wine. This suggests that the system is liable to abuse.
Read the full report here.
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