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| Mozilla accuses Finfisher makers of 'hiding' under name | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Mozilla Foundation has accused UK software group Gamma International of falsely associating one of its products with the Firefox name. | The Mozilla Foundation has accused UK software group Gamma International of falsely associating one of its products with the Firefox name. |
| Finfisher is a legitimate surveillance software thought to be used by governments to covertly obtain data. | Finfisher is a legitimate surveillance software thought to be used by governments to covertly obtain data. |
| It is installed unknowingly by its target computer user, often by disguising itself as an update to a well known programme such as Firefox. | It is installed unknowingly by its target computer user, often by disguising itself as an update to a well known programme such as Firefox. |
| Gamma International has not responded to emailed requests for comment. | Gamma International has not responded to emailed requests for comment. |
| University of Toronto research group The Citizen Lab claims it has found possible evidence of Finfisher in the servers of 36 different countries, reports the Associated Press. | University of Toronto research group The Citizen Lab claims it has found possible evidence of Finfisher in the servers of 36 different countries, reports the Associated Press. |
| In 2011 the BBC found documents in the state security building in Egypt, looted during the uprising, which suggested that the Hampshire-based firm had offered to supply Finfisher to the Egyptian government to monitor activists. | In 2011 the BBC found documents in the state security building in Egypt, looted during the uprising, which suggested that the Hampshire-based firm had offered to supply Finfisher to the Egyptian government to monitor activists. |
| Gamma International denied supplying it but the files seen by the BBC described a five month trial which included successful access to email accounts and the recording of encrypted Skype calls. | Gamma International denied supplying it but the files seen by the BBC described a five month trial which included successful access to email accounts and the recording of encrypted Skype calls. |
| The Mozilla Foundation has now sent a cease and desist letter, warning Gamma International not to use the name of Firefox, its open source browser, as camouflage for the programme. | The Mozilla Foundation has now sent a cease and desist letter, warning Gamma International not to use the name of Firefox, its open source browser, as camouflage for the programme. |
| "Our brand and trademarks are used by the spyware as a method to avoid detection and deletion," said Mozilla chief privacy officer Alex Fowler in a statement. | "Our brand and trademarks are used by the spyware as a method to avoid detection and deletion," said Mozilla chief privacy officer Alex Fowler in a statement. |
| "As an open source project trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world, defending Mozilla's trademarks from this abuse is vital to our brand, mission and continued success." | "As an open source project trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world, defending Mozilla's trademarks from this abuse is vital to our brand, mission and continued success." |