Gamma International’s Finfisher program would have enabled government spies to monitor activists and censor websites, according to documents obtained by activists after storming State Security Police headquarters in Nasr City:
One of the papers, in English and headed Finfisher Proposal: Commercial Offer, contained an offer dated 29 June 2010 to provide “FinSpy” software, hardware, installation and training to the SSI for €287,000 (£255,000). The name on the invoice, dated Tuesday 29 June 2010, was Gamma International UK Limited.
Other documents, written in Arabic and marked “ultimately confidential”, state that after being offered a “free trial version” of Gamma’s Finfisher software to test its ability to hack into email accounts, the SSI concluded it was “a high-level security system” that could get into email accounts of Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo, as well as allowing “full control” of the computers of “targeted elements”. It went on to describe the software’s “success in breaking through personal accounts on Skype network, which is considered the most secure method of communication used by members of the elements of the harmful activity because it is encrypted”.
GAMMA INTERNATIONAL (UK) LIMITED
Company Record Report
Current Appointments
Number of current appointments: 4
SECRETARY: MARTIN & CO (CO SEC) LIMITED
Appointed: 15/08/2007
Nationality: BRITISH
No. of Appointments: 2
Address: 25 ST. THOMAS STREET
WINCHESTER
HAMPSHIRE
SO23 9HJ
DIRECTOR: NELSON, LOUTHEAN JOHN ALEXANDER
Appointed: 15/08/2007 Date of Birth: 13/07/1961
Nationality: BRITISH
No. of Appointments: 6
Address: NO 7 HAMRA STREET
PO BOX 13-55645
BEIRUT
LEBANON
LEBANON
FOREIGN
DIRECTOR: NELSON, WILLIAM LOUTHEAN
Appointed: 15/08/2007 Date of Birth: 01/02/1932
Nationality: BRITISH
No. of Appointments: 12
Address: PARSONAGE MEAD
WINTERBOURNE EARLS
SALISBURY
WILTSHIRE
SP4 6HD
Country/State of Residence: UNITED KINGDOM
DIRECTOR: SEYMOUR, KAREN JEAN
Appointed: 10/04/2008 Date of Birth: 25/04/1963
Nationality: BRITISH
No. of Appointments: 4
Address: THE BARN 29A THE MARSH
LONGBRIDGE DEVERILL
WARMINSTER
WILTSHIRE
UNITED KINGDOM
BA12 7EA
This Report excludes resignations
Considering what the product claims to offer, I’m rather surprised by such a low price of €287,137. For just under €400,000 the client would get both the intrusion and infection softwares, training, installation and two years of support. Wow, seems like a bargain! A deal two goioid to be true perhaps? I would have expected an IT intrusion product of this calibre and nature to have been priced in the millions. This fact alone makes me doubt the authenticity of the the above documentation.
I just checked out Gamma International UK Limited on UK Companies House. I can post the company director information etc if someone is interested.
Also Gamma Groups own website is very interesting. Their Finfisher IT Intrusion site states “The FinFisher product portfolio is solely offered to Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies”.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230628170849/https://gammagroup.com/Default.aspx
https://web.archive.org/web/20131015102554/http://www.finfisher.com/FinFisher/en/index.php