Cognitive Software to deliver spyware to Myanmar

Budrigannews.com – According to documents reviewed by Reuters, Israel’s Cognyte Software Ltd. won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a state-backed telecommunications company in Myanmar a month before the Asian nation’s military coup in February 2021.

According to a legal complaint that was recently filed with Israel’s attorney general and made public on Sunday, Israel has claimed that it stopped transfers of defense technology to Myanmar as a result of a ruling that was issued in 2017 by the Supreme Court of Israel. Despite this, the deal was concluded.

Israel’s government has repeatedly stated publicly that defense exports to Myanmar are prohibited, despite the fact that the ruling was subjected to a rare gag order at the request of the state and the media cannot cite it.

A criminal investigation into the deal is called for in the complaint, which is led by prominent Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack, who also led the campaign for the Supreme Court’s ruling. Cognyte and unidentified officials from the defense and foreign ministries who oversee such transactions are accused of “aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in Myanmar,” according to the complaint.

More than 60 Israelis, including a prominent activist, academic, and writer, as well as a former speaker of the house, filed the complaint on their behalf.

A January 2021 letter with attachments from Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to local regulators that lists Cognyte as the winning vendor for intercept technology and notes that the purchase order was issued “by 30th Dec 2020” are the documents regarding the deal that were provided to Reuters and Mack by the activist group Justice for Myanmar.

Without the assistance of telecommunications and internet providers, intercept spyware can enable authorities to listen in on phone calls, view text messages and web traffic, including emails, and track users’ locations.

Multiple Reuters inquiries for comment were not answered by representatives of Cognyte, the military government of Myanmar, or the MPT. KDDI in Japan (OTC:) Sumitomo Corp and Corp, both of which hold stakes in MPT, declined to comment, claiming that they were unaware of specifics regarding communication interception.

In response to inquiries regarding the complaint, Israel’s attorney general did not respond. Both the defense ministry and the foreign affairs ministry did not respond to inquiries regarding the transaction.

Reuters was informed by two individuals who were aware of Myanmar’s intercept plans that MPT had tested the Cognyte system. They refused to be identified for fear of junta retaliation.

A person with direct knowledge of the situation and three people briefed on the situation told Reuters that MPT uses intercept spyware, but they did not name the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether MPT had successfully completed the purchase of Cognyte intercept technology.

After the brutal military crackdown on Myanmar’s Rohingya population in 2017 while Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was in power, public concern in Israel over the country’s defense exports to the country had grown even before the coup. Mack’s petition, which asked the Supreme Court to prohibit arms exports to Myanmar, was prompted by the crackdown.

The United Nations says that the junta has killed thousands of people since the coup, including many political opponents.

Cybersecurity experts have stated that despite the fact that law enforcement agencies can use what are referred to as “lawful intercepts” to catch criminals, the technology is rarely used without a legal process.

In order to safeguard human rights, the junta in Myanmar is using intrusive telecoms spyware, according to activists and industry executives previously interviewed by Reuters.

According to Mack, Cognyte’s participation in the tender goes against statements made by Israeli officials following the Supreme Court’s decision that no security exports had been made to Myanmar.

Israeli law states that “dual-use” technology is classified as defense equipment, despite the fact that intercept spyware is typically referred to as “dual-use” technology for both civilian and military applications.

Companies that trade in defense-related goods are also required by Israeli law to obtain export and marketing licenses before entering into contracts. According to the legal complaint, Cognyte should be investigated for any officials who granted Cognyte licenses for Myanmar deals. Reuters was unable to ascertain whether or not Cognyte had obtained such licenses.

The political situation in Myanmar was tense around the time of the 2020 agreement, with the military disputing the results of an election that Suu Kyi won.

In a briefing and statement on December 3, 2020, Norway’s Telenor also stated that it was concerned about Myanmar authorities’ plans for a lawful intercept due to insufficient legal safeguards. Prior to withdrawing from Myanmar last year, Telenor was one of the largest telecoms companies there.

Cognyte, which trades on the Nasdaq, was spun off from Verint Systems (NASDAQ:) in February 2021. Inc., a pioneering global player in the Israeli cybersecurity sector.

In 2021, Facebook also banned Cognyte, which had $474 million in annual revenue in its most recent fiscal year. Meta Platforms Inc., owner of Facebook (NASDAQ:) Cognyte “enables managing fake accounts across social media platforms,” according to a report.

According to Meta, its investigation found that journalists and politicians were among the Cognyte customers in Kenya, Mexico, and Indonesia. Customers or targets were not identified.

Last month, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund removed Cognyte from its portfolio, stating that states that “have been accused of extremely serious human rights violations” are said to be customers of the company’s surveillance products and services. There were no states named by the fund. 

Cognyte has not provided a public response to Meta’s or Norway’s sovereign wealth fund’s assertions.

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