Pioneer of Saudi driving license was hacked his mobile phone

2021-12-11 13.55: Text corrected.

Loujain al-Hathloul Released in February of this year After spending nearly three years in a maximum security prison in Saudi Arabia.

She was one of the main advocates for allowing Saudi women to drive, something that authorities allowed in June 2018. Since then, she has campaigned for women in Saudi Arabia to avoid humiliating guardianship laws that essentially make them slaves. .

But her activism cost money. Between 2015 and 2018, her mobile phone suffered an advanced data breach. During that time, Loujain Al-Hathloul lived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where she studied sociology at the Sorbonne branch. At the same time, she continued to advocate the liberation of women.

Three American computer specialists, all with backgrounds in the US intelligence service, have been tasked by the UAE to hack cell phones and computers belonging to “security risks”. Including the Al-Hathloul phone.

The project has been dubbed Raven, “The Raven”, and it has been very successful from the clients’ point of view. When Loujain al-Hathloul used suspiciously encrypted apps like Signal and Telegram, her calls and texts were open to the UAE authorities, who in turn shared the information with Saudi security services.

On March 13, 2018, Loujain Al-Hathloul was kidnapped by Saudi security forces and taken on a private plane to Saudi Arabia, where she was held for several days. She was then released and then arrested again in May of the same year on charges of espionage and high treason, among other things.

During investigations in Dabhan High Security Prison Outside Jeddah, Al-Hathloul was tortured and sexually assaulted. Among other things, her tormented souls applied the so-called drowning, a method of torture in which the victim’s head is repeatedly kept under water until a feeling of suffocation arises.

Project Raven . has been revealed By Reuters 2019 and the following year the three Americans were prosecuted by the US Department of Justice. They were convicted the following year for violating US export regulations and illegal possession of intelligence equipment. It turns out that some of the software used came from US cyber espionage.

The total fine was $1,685,000, just over 15 million Swedish kronor.

But now a new lawsuit has been filed against the three American cyber spies, this time in a federal court in Oregon. The Volunteer Electronic Frontier Organization is acting as a representative for Jane Al-Hathloul, who accuses the trio of espionage with aiding and abetting torture.

Investigators at Dabhan Prison repeatedly referred to the contents of the encrypted traffic on Al-Hathloul’s mobile phone, which the Americans helped to break into.

“No citizen should suffer from the misuse of spyware to violate citizens’ rights,” said Loujain Al-Hathloul. She is currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she is also following the legal procedures to release her from the travel ban, which is in effect for just over four more years.

The notorious United Arab Emirates To use advanced spyware. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai and Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, used the Israeli spy tool Pegasus to eavesdrop on his ex-wife. The ex-wife, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, and the sheikh are involved in an injured custody dispute.

According to internet experts, more than 260MB downloaded from Haya’s phone at some point. This corresponds to about 500 images or 24 hours of recorded voice messages. In addition, the sheikh had mobile phones belonging to Princess Haya’s lawyer that were hacked. The information emerged at a court hearing in London this summer. Sheikh Mohammed denies espionage.

NSO Electronic Corporation, which developed Pegasus, They were also caught in the crossfire because Saudi Arabia used their software to spy on murdered regime critic Jamal Khashoggi.

Correction: An earlier version stated the wrong year in which Al-Hathloul was released from prison.