Media Summary for Citizen Lab Report Hooking Candiru

On July 15, Citizen Lab released a new report, Hooking Candiru: Another Mercenary Spyware Vendor comes into Focus. The Israel-based company Candiru, secretively sells spyware to governments, which can infect iPhones, Androids, Macs, PCs and cloud accounts.

Citizen Lab’s report reveals two privilege escalation vulnerabilities exploited by Candiru, discovered by Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC). It also provides a technical overview of the spyware and the necessary steps that need to be taken moving forward.

Stay up to date with the latest news coverage and more articles on Candiru below.

Israel begins investigation into NSO Group spyware abuse
Citizen Lab’s report on Candiru’s hacking tools is mentioned.
(MIT Technology Review)

Israel’s Candiru sold states spyware to hack journalists and dissidents
(The Financial Times)

BBC World TV broadcast transcript
Citizen Lab’s and Bill Marczak’s research on Candiru is discussed.
(BBC TV – TVEyes) (BBC Turkey)

Israeli Companies Aided Saudi Spying Despite Khashoggi Killing
Citizen Lab says Candiru has used malware to exploit Microsoft products and enable Saudi Arabia government clients to spy on perceived enemies.
(The New York Times)

Citizen Lab, Microsoft collaborate to investigate spyware sold by foreign firm: CBC, the Guardian
U of T News summarizes Citizen Lab report
(U of T News)

Microsoft says Israeli group sold tools to hack Windows
Citizen Lab’s report is quoted regarding the countries where Candiru’s exploitations were found
(The Middle East North Africa Financial Network)

Microsoft asegura que una empresa israelí creó un ‘software’ espía que se usó en Cataluña
(El Pais – Spanish language)

Israel’s Candiru provided spyware used against dissidents, journalists and human rights activists
Bill Marczak from Citizen Lab is quoted and discusses Candiru’s sites and servers.
(C-Tech)

Fighting cyberweapons built by private businesses
Citizen Lab and Microsoft issue a software update that will protect Windows customers from exploitations.
(Microsoft)

A private Israeli firm has helped governments hack journalists and human rights advocates
Citizen Lab reveals the selling of spying tools to Middle Eastern and Asian governments.
(The Washington Post)

Microsoft says Israeli group sold tools to hack Windows
Reuters quotes Citizen Lab’s report and their comments on the spyware industry’s widespread abuse
(Reuters) (Financial Post) (Haaretz) (The Jerusalem Post) (CBC) (Techregister) (Yahoo! Finance) (Daily Mail) (Nasdaq) (The Hindu)

Microsoft Says Israeli Hacking Group Behind Windows PC Attacks
Citizen Lab report is cited and Candiru’s harm is discussed.
(Business Insider)

Microsoft says it blocked spying on rights activists, others
The Associated Press reports that Microsoft blocked tools by Candiru thanks to Citizen Lab and Microsoft’s software updates.
(The Associated Press) (The Boston Globe) (The Times of Israel) (CTV News) (ABC News) (Houston Chronicle) (Japan Today) (Daily Mail) (The Telegraph) (iHeart Radio) (U.S. News & World Report) (The Independent)

Israeli Firm’s Spyware Used Against Dissidents, Microsoft Says
Bloomberg references Citizen Lab researchers that say Candiru spyware is part of a larger spyware industry.
(Bloomberg) (Al Jazeera) (Bloomberg Quint) (Bloomberg Law)

Microsoft says Israeli company is behind malware that affected Windows PCs
The Citizen Lab and Microsoft found two security vulnerabilities that Candiru had exploited, and they have since been fixed with Microsoft software updates.
(CNBC) (Microsoft News) (NBC)

Citizen Lab: software de Candiru espió a periodistas y activistas
(Efe via La Vanguardia – Spanish) (Deutsche Welle – Spanish)

A private Israeli firm has helped governments hack journalists and human rights advocates
Citizen Lab’s John Scott-Railton discusses the large extent of spyware.
(The Washington Post) (The Washington Post: The Cybersecurity 202)

Spyware campaign targeted journalists, activists: researchers
AFP references Citizen Lab’s discovery of more than 100 victims targeted by Candiru from around the world.
(France 24) (International Business Times) (Le Parisien – France) (La Presse) – France) (Daily Mail)

Israel Refuses to Extradite NSO-linked Former Mexican Official
Tomas Zeron De Lucio is hiding in Israel and wanted for questioning about Pegasus software abuses.
(Haaretz)

Microsoft disrupts products from Israeli tech firm used to hack journalists, activists
Citizen Lab’s newest findings on Candiru from their latest report are cited.
(The Hill – Washington)

Israeli spyware firm linked to fake Black Lives Matter and Amnesty websites
Citizen Lab’s uncovered websites tied to Candiru with fake domain names posing as activist groups.
(The Guardian)

Microsoft says it blocked spying on rights activists, others
Microsoft says tools they blocked were used to spy on 100 politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics and political dissidents.
(ABC News)

Microsoft says Israeli group sold tools to hack Windows
Citizen Lab and Microsoft discover that Candiru created and sold software to penetrate Windows.
(Reuters)

Mysterious Israeli Spyware Vendor’s Windows Zero-Days Caught in the Wild
Citizen Lab’s, Bill Marzack, discusses Candiru’s software targeting an individual based on their political beliefs.
(Vice)

Microsoft disrupts products from Israeli tech firm used to hack journalists, activists
Microsoft announces discovery of what it describes as “cyberweapons” manufactured and sold by an Israeli-based company.
(The Hill)

Microsoft says it blocked spying on rights activists, others
Microsoft blocks tool developed by an Israeli hacker-for-hire company, used to spy on more than 100 people around the world.
(Associated Press)