Connected Magazine

Amnesty and big tech join forces in battle against spyware

Based out of Berlin, a human rights team led by an Irish security researcher is working with a surprising ally to protect citizens’ privacy. Jason Walsh reports

Spyware is not only used during uprisings or in war zones

Think of tech and surveillance and a number of things come to mind, with targeted advertising, the training of artificial intelligence (AI) models at the top of the list. As crucial and revealing digital extensions of our lives, however, devices such as smartphones and tablets are increasingly being targeted in high-tech but old-fashioned surveillance operations.

Based in Berlin, an Amnesty International team, known as the Amnesty Tech Security Lab, is working to spot the spyware.