Seller of digital eavesdropping software gets hacked

HackingTeam, an Italian company that helps law enforcement hack into digital networks, has apparently been hacked itself.

Client lists, emails and other documents purportedly belonging to HackingTeam were posted online Sunday by an anonymous hacker.

HackingTeam technology extracts sensitive information off computers before the data can be encrypted. The company has claimed its software can log keystrokes and spy on a computer user’s actions.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pentagon are customers of HackingTeam’s digital eavesdropping technology, according to London-based Privacy International. The leaked documents say the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Chile and several other governments are customers too.

Law enforcement and spy agencies tend to be tight-lipped about the tools they acquire to track suspects and targets, but the lens into HackingTeam could confirm the suspicions of civil rights advocates, who’ve called for greater transparency and more restrictions related to the surveillance.

HackingTeam did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.

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