We Saw NSO’s Covid-19 Software in Action, and Privacy Experts Are Worried

We got a demo of the infamous Israeli spyware company’s Coronavirus surveillance software. A number of surveillance tech companies are pivoting to tracking coronavirus-infected citizens. Experts are worried that they are just trying exploit a crisis to expand their questionable businesses.

The rapidly spreading coronavirus has infected more than 900,000 and killed more than 45,000 people all over the world. This unprecedented crisis is also giving a chance to governments, and their technology providers, to ramp up mass surveillance. In the spirit of never letting a good crisis go to waste, several companies around the world— some already notorious and some less public—are pitching and developing surveillance tools to help governments track citizens with the goal of stopping the spread of coronavirus.

For critics, however, this is an unnecessary escalation justified by a tragic health crisis.

Source: vice.com