Nations Are Now Buying Cheap Spy Tech To 'Monitor Everyone'

Frank Bajak And Jack Gillum, Phys.org: Snapping up cheap spy tools, nations 'monitoring everyone'

Governments known to stifle dissent with imprisonment and beatings or otherwise abuse their power are buying cheap, off-the-shelf surveillance software that can monitor the phone conversations and track the movements of thousands of their citizens, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Such so-called "lawful intercept" software has been available for years to Western police and spy agencies and is now easily obtained by governments that routinely violate basic rights—outside a short blacklist that includes Syria and North Korea. For less than the price of a military helicopter, a country with little technical know-how can buy powerful surveillance gear.

Domestic spy operations rely upon companies like the Israeli-American firm Verint Systems, which has customers in more than 180 countries. Verint has also supplied U.S. law-enforcement agencies, including those that target drug traffickers in Mexico and Colombia.

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WNU Editor: I am even surprised by how cheap these "spy tools" are becoming. It is only a question of time before this technology becomes available (and affordable) to businesses and retail consumers .... if not already. An AP version of this same story can be read here.