SecurityQuiet 78d · day 78
Mother Jones, Lighthouse Reports expose First Wap phone-tracking empire
Undercover investigation reveals surveillance firm sold location-pinpointing software to target politicians, celebrities, and activists worldwide.
What to know
- An undercover investigation by Lighthouse Reports and 13 news outlets, including Mother Jones, exposed First Wap, an Austrian surveillance firm selling untraceable phone-tracking software.
- The investigation revealed over one million tracked locations worldwide, with targets ranging from politicians and celebrities to environmental activists and ordinary people.
- An audio recording captured First Wap executive Guenther Rudolph pitching the technology to a sanctioned mining company for tracking environmental protesters.
- The archive represents one of the most complete pictures to date of how the global surveillance industry operates and who its customers are.
“We uncovered a massive archive of phone numbers and geolocation data. It revealed a phone-tracking empire that has been used to target everyone from the former prime minister of Qatar to actor Jared Leto to a softball coach in Hawaii.”
Mother Jones, News publication · Bluesky · Aug 24
Guenther Rudolph Executive, First WapGabriel Geiger Reporter, Lighthouse ReportsLighthouse Reports Investigative newsroom
Mother Jones News publication
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