Powerful Canadian-made hacking technology was deployed along Turkey’s border with Syria, the Associate Press reported based on Citizen Lab’s research.
Devices created by a subsidiary of Canada’s Sandvine were used to carry out a type of hacking called network injection, in which someone uses their control of a network to send malicious software. The hardware appeared to be installed on one of Turkey’s major telecoms networks and to be targeting Kurdish fighters who Turkey considers rebels but who are also allied with the United States in its fight against the Islamic State.
“These companies are not closely regulated—and that can lead to a lot of unintended consequences, including consequences that harm our foreign policy interests and human rights interest as well,” said Ron Deibert, Citizen Lab’s director.
The AP also notes a report by Forbes that six engineers quit the Canadian company over its ties to Turkey in 2016. Sandvine told the AP that Citizen Lab’s research is “technically inaccurate and intentionally misleading,” adding that it investigates any claims that its technology is being abused.