FinFisher
Encyclopedia
FinFisher is security software that has stirred controversy because Gamma International marketed it to government security officials who were told it could be covertly installed on suspects' computers through exploiting security lapses in the update procedures of non-suspect software.
Egypt
ian dissidents who ransacked
the office's of Egypt's secret police following the overthrow of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak
reported they discovered a contract with Gamma International for 287 thousand pounds for a liscense to run the FinFisher software.
A security flaw in Apple Computer
's itunes
allowed unauthorized third parties to use itunes online update procedures to install unauthorized programs.
Gamma International offered presentations to government security officials at security software trade shows where they described to security officials how to covertly install the FinFisher spy software on suspect's computers using itunes's update procedures.
The security flaw in itunes FinFisher is reported to have exploited was first described in 2008 by security software commentator Brian Krebs
.
Apple did not patch the security flaw for more than three years, in November 2011.
Apple officials have not offered an explanation as to why the flaw took so long to patch.
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian dissidents who ransacked
the office's of Egypt's secret police following the overthrow of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
reported they discovered a contract with Gamma International for 287 thousand pounds for a liscense to run the FinFisher software.
A security flaw in Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's itunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
allowed unauthorized third parties to use itunes online update procedures to install unauthorized programs.
Gamma International offered presentations to government security officials at security software trade shows where they described to security officials how to covertly install the FinFisher spy software on suspect's computers using itunes's update procedures.
The security flaw in itunes FinFisher is reported to have exploited was first described in 2008 by security software commentator Brian Krebs
Brian Krebs
Brian Krebs is an American journalist specializing in cybercrime and computer security. His father worked in the intelligence industry and his mother was a homemaker...
.
Apple did not patch the security flaw for more than three years, in November 2011.
Apple officials have not offered an explanation as to why the flaw took so long to patch.