In a startling revelation, Ghana finds itself among the select few nations housing servers for a potent spyware developed by yet another Israeli tech company, QuaDream.
Unbeknownst to many Ghanaians, this discovery, stemming from a 2022 Reuters investigation into Israeli corporate records, sheds light on QuaDream’s founding in 2016. Spearheaded by Ilan Dabelstein, a former Israeli military official, along with two ex-NSO employees, Guy Geva and Nimrod Reznik, QuaDream emerged as a significant player in surveillance technology.
Similar to NSO’s infamous Pegasus spyware, QuaDream’s flagship product, dubbed REIGN, boasts the ability to infiltrate smartphones, granting access to encrypted messages across platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. Furthermore, REIGN facilitates the extraction of emails, photos, texts, and contacts, according to QuaDream’s assertions.
The revelation of REIGN’s existence and deployment came to light through the diligent work of Citizen Lab, a renowned interdisciplinary research institute headquartered at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Analyzing a report from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, Citizen Lab uncovered traces of a suspected iOS 14 zero-click exploit utilized to deploy QuaDream’s spyware. Dubbed ENDOFDAYS, the exploit targeted iOS versions 14.4 and 14.4.2, leveraging invisible iCloud calendar invitations as a vector for infiltration.
While this revelation comes a year after its occurrence, its implications remain profoundly relevant, particularly with Ghana’s impending December elections. With spyware often wielded against opposition figures, activists, and journalists, concerns regarding electoral integrity and democratic processes loom large. Ghana, often heralded as a democratic stalwart amidst regional tumult, now faces scrutiny for its treatment of dissenting voices. Journalists and activists find themselves subject to arrest, detention, and even torture for advocating transparency and accountability.
Ghana’s entanglement with surveillance technology extends beyond QuaDream’s REIGN. The country’s rumored acquisition of NSO’s Pegasus spyware, though officially unconfirmed, has sparked controversy. While officials acknowledge the possession of Pegasus hardware, the absence of accompanying software has raised suspicions, leading to legal disputes and allegations of financial impropriety against National Security and National Communication Authority personnel.
As Ghana grapples with the aftermath of the NSO scandal, its involvement with QuaDream’s spyware adds another layer of complexity to the surveillance narrative. Despite calls for scrutiny from Israeli academics, the specifics of Ghana’s dealings with Pegasus remain shrouded in ambiguity. The emergence of QuaDream’s REIGN amplifies concerns surrounding Ghana’s digital governance practices, implicating the nation in a global web of digital espionage.
The inclusion of Ghana among the countries hosting QuaDream’s servers—Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Romania, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan—underscores the pervasive influence of surveillance technology in an interconnected world. As Ghana navigates the intricate landscape of digital governance, the specter of surveillance casts a pall over its democratic aspirations.
Source: https://newsghana.com.gh/ghanas-espionage-unveiling-quadreams-reign-spyware/