Pakistan Spying On Millions Through Phone-Tapping And Firewall, Amnesty Says

Pakistan has built surveillance systems that it is actively using to spy on millions of its citizens and to block millions of internet sessions, according to Amnesty International. The Asian nation's Lawful Intercept Management System enables intelligence agencies to tap calls and texts across all four major mobile operators.

A Chinese-built firewall, WMS 2.0, currently blocks approximately 650,000 web links and restricts platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and X. The surveillance infrastructure combines technology from Chinese company Geedge Networks, U.S.-based Niagara Networks, France's Thales DIS, Germany's Utimaco, and UAE-based Datafusion. Balochistan province has experienced years-long internet blackouts under the system.

This is supposed to be newsworthy?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, it should be, but spying is ubiquitous, and Pakistan? C'mon, when aren't they spying?

Re:

[MacMann]

In the past spying, at least the electronic kind, was largely unknown outside of a shooting war such as was done during WW2. New technology allows for spying on a whole new level. A level where it's feasible to spy on millions of citizens. I could confidently say there were no phone taps on citizens in Pakistan in the 1940s. How many citizens had phones then?

What I'm seeing is a growing capability in information warfare, and that is newsworthy. If Pakistan can do this then so could other nations. I've

Only Pakistan?

[Mr. Dollar Ton]

Please, don't make us laugh, the whole world is under surveillance. Most of it being done through the "social networks".

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

It's weird how the CIA LifeLog project got shut down a week before Facebook commenced operations.

So many coincidences.