India's spy agencies explored 'sypware' from Hacking Team: leaked mails on WikiLeaks

Over a million emails have been leaked from Hacking Team, the Italian software firm that sold spy technology to governments and intelligence agencies globally

India’s intelligence agencies, including the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Intelligence Bureau and several state police units surveillance tools, were engaged with Italian spy software maker Hacking Team, to buy surveillance tools that infect targeted mobile phones to spy on them, according to leaked emails by Wikileaks.

WikiLeaks leaked on Thursday over a million emails from Hacking Team, the Italian software firm that sold spy technology to governments and intelligence agencies globally.

Hacking Team engaged private firms such as Delhi-based Semco Group, the India unit of Israeli software company Nice, and Sun Work Consultants to sell the spyware to Indian agencies, including CABSEC, an intelligence organization directly under the Prime Minister’s office and police departments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The firm held a webinar in February 2014 to demonstrate the product to R&AW, NTRO, IB and the National Investigation Agency. It also participated in the DefExpo 2014, an exhibition organised to showcase new security solutions to defence and homeland security in India.

Neeraj Kumar Singh, a director at Semco, did not respond to an email query after refusing comment over phone.

India’s tepid response to charges by US security expert Edward Snowden leaks that showed US National Security Agency spied on the Indian Embassy in Washington and its mission to the United States was seen as an untapped business opportunity for Hacking Team in India. The Wall Street Journal had reported on August 6 that India’s response was tepid because of its own aspirations to be a global power and build capabilities in cyber snooping.

“Good morning dear colleagues. The following article from Friday’s WSJ/India indicates that the world largest democracy represents a huge — really huge and largely untapped — market opportunity for us. Enjoy the reading and have a great Sunday,” said a mail by David Vincenzetti, founder and CEO of Hacking Team in August 2014, according to WikiLeaks.

The India connection was first disclosed by former Forbes India journalist Rohin Dharmakumar when he tweeted information from the leaked emails early today.