Friday, May 24, 2013
By Margaret Coker and Jennifer Valentino-Devries
Syria's telecommunications providers continue to use American technology to monitor Internet usage, according to a group that has accurately tracked the previous use of such technology.
On Thursday, a collective of computer hackers known as Telecomix released data it says show that 34 devices manufactured by California-based Blue Coat Systems Inc. are being employed by Syrian telecom operators. Its findings come a month after the U.S. fined an exporter for bringing the same technology to the embattled country in violation of a U.S. embargo.
The latest number is greater than the 19 Blue Coat devices that the U.S., in the Commerce Department investigation that led to the fine on a Dubai-based exporter last month, said had been sent to Syria.
Telecomix members said they believe that the 34 devices have been installed recently and weren't identified as part of the Commerce Department probe, which started in 2011. The group says it has periodically probed the Syrian telecom infrastructure and until recently it didn't see the devices, which allow companies or governments to block websites or record when people visit them. The data released by the group include information about the digital fingerprints of devices on the Syrian Internet; these fingerprints in some cases indicate the type of technology being used. In the current data, the devices identified themselves as "Blue Coat proxy servers."
The Telecomix group initially looked into the Syrians' use of Blue Coat systems in 2011, generating data that was the basis for a Wall Street Journal article that same year. Blue Coat later acknowledged that its devices were indeed in Syria, and the Commerce Department launched its investigation.
In a statement Friday, Blue Coat said it hadn't sold any of its products to Syrian customers and would investigate the possibility of additional devices ending up in Syria.
In the early days of the Syrian uprising, Syria's top Internet service providers were using technology developed by Blue Coat to censor the Web and record traffic, the Journal reported in October 2011.
Syria has long used domestic telephone and Internet service providers--which are owned by the government or companies with government ties--to track and in some cases arrest members of the opposition, the U.S. has said. The practice helped lead to U.S. sanctions on the sale of information technology to Syria almost 10 years ago.
Syria's government has mounted an online campaign against Syrian opposition members and international aid workers. Dozens of Syrian activists have alleged pro-regime hackers have infected their computers with spyware designed to monitor their activities and collect information about their sources. Several say they were detained and tortured in Syrian jails by interrogators trying to find out about their online activities.
In the past, Syrian government officials have denied that their forces have tortured anti-regime activists.
The possible presence of additional Web-filtering machines, despite the earlier investigation, underscores problems with the enforcement of embargoes: Once a company sells material to an exporter legally, it isn't obliged to track where the goods end up. But "hacktivist" groups are increasingly able to use their activities to push for transparency in order to press for political change.
The Telecomix activists said they were motivated to investigate Syria's Internet service providers after the government recently shut down the country's Internet.
The data released by Telecomix don't indicate how long the devices have allegedly been in use or how or where the 34 devices were purchased.
Telecomix also said that the Blue Coat devices have Internet Protocol addresses that originate in Syria and that these devices have been connecting or attempting to connect with Blue Coat servers.
Blue Coat also said in its statement on Friday that it takes action to prevent Syria-based devices from receiving software updates.
"Blue Coat has never permitted the sale of our products to countries embargoed by the U.S., including Syria," David Murphy, president of the Sunnyvale, Calif., company, wrote in a statement. "Even when our products are unlawfully diverted to embargoed countries like Syria without our knowledge, we use various techniques to limit our products from receiving updates or support from our servers or support personnel. For example, Blue Coat blocks communications from Syrian-designated IP addresses to Blue Coat servers, including those used for software or web filtering updates."
--Nour Malas contributed to this article.
Write to Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
24-05-13 2311GMT
