As African governments crack down on protestors and opposition leaders in countries such as Nigeria and Uganda, it is emerging that state security agencies in seven regional countries are among 25 around the world using an Israeli surveillance platform to snoop on private communications of citizens.

A new report names Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, and Zambia as the African countries that have been employing Circles’ surveillance platforms to exploit flaws in telecoms systems and to access telephone calls, SMS messages and location services.

The report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab titled Running in Circles: Uncovering the Clients of Cyberespionage Firm Circles offers new perspectives detailing how the telecom surveillance company, Circles has deployed its platforms across Africa, helping state security departments to snoop on communications of opposition politicians, journalists, and protestors.

It’s worth noting Circles is said to be affiliated with Tel Aviv-based NSO Group, which became globally known last year for the Pegasus spyware scandal after it was reported to have been used to exploit a vulnerability in the popular WhatsApp app to spy opposition organizers in several countries.

One such example is Botswana, where Citizen Lab has detailed how the Directorate for Intelligence and Security’s domain was used to identify two snooping systems linked to Circles platforms. This was undertaken through cryptographic TLS certificates signed under “CN=sid.org.bw” which is a domain name linked to the country’s state security and defense department. The targets for this surveillance seemed to have been media houses, journalists, and their sources in cases involving corruption by politicians.

The outbreak of EndSARS protests in Nigeria, where young citizens demonstrated peacefully against the heavy-handed and violent nature of the now-disbanded SARS police unit, triggered a deadly state security crackdown on protestors features followed by various attempts by the government to infiltrate and undermine protest organizers. This is not new, Front Line Defenders had already concluded in a 2018 report that that the Nigerian government “has conducted mass surveillance of citizens’ telecommunications.”

But it’s not just the countries facing protests that are resorting to surveillance of private communications of citizens. In Zambia, for example, there is a entire cyber-surveillance unit in the office of the country’s telecommunications regulator. As in Uganda more recently, Zambia and several other African countries have relied on a mix of Chinese-bought facial recognition and digital surveillance tools from companies including Huawei and Cloudwalk.

As internet penetration and smartphone usage increases with young Africans, social media has become more influential for organizing civil society and opposition movements across Africa. This has led to several governments shutting down the internet or blocking social media apps especially around elections and protests. But given the economic cost of shutdowns and widespread criticism, covert surveillance of digital footprints may now be seen as a more effective option.

Hiding behind code names or completely operating behind anonymous domains is an emerging trend for African state departments undertaking covert surveillance of private citizens as there was an unidentified client using Circles’ platform in Zimbabwe, in addition to another client going by the code name “Zagato Zeus”. Another client, Zimbabwe Telcel has also been identified as having relied on Circles’ platform for surveillance of private telecommunications in the southern African country.

Equatorial Guinea, which has previously shut down the internet, also had an anonymous client using surveillance systems while Telco Kali Rainbow was identified as being behind usage of a surveillance system geo-located to Mauritius but traced back to IP addresses in Kenya.

As surveillance of private citizens’ communications increases across Africa, there are fresh worries that telecom companies are not yet adequately geared to deal with this trend.

“Abuse of the global telephone system for tracking and monitoring is believed to be widespread, however it is difficult to investigate,” notes Citizen Lab in its report. “Meanwhile, cellular carriers have many technical difficulties identifying and blocking abuses of their infrastructure.”

Source: Quartz Africa

By Sam Nyirenda NDC Provincial Secretary

PF’s purported claim of Popularity in Ndola by Clear point Consulting Ltd is a misconception.

Just like the unpopular inertia that was unnecessarily created by the Patriotic Front on Bill 10 against the wish of the people is now an artificial belief that the Patriotic Front is still popular on the Copperbelt.
The Opinion poll conducted by a self accredited Opinion poll Company Clear Point Consulting Ltd Company is basically an image building venture with the hope of mending the damaged Political fortunes of the once vibrant PF party under the late President Sata.

The PF seems to draw comfort from this mitigation by the Opinion poll since it’s disconnected from the realities of the suffering Zambians. They seem to have lost touch with the ordinary citizens on the ground.
Whilst the idea of sampling Opinion polls could be good Clear Point has not indicated how, where or which target groups it collected it’s data clusters from that they used in there final data analysis rational.

Ndola is a city which has been Politically exposed and it has always been so.No amount of misinformation,mis-representation or indeed manipulation deliberately calculated to mislead the Electorate will succeed in this current depressing Economic trend.The people of Ndola will not be misguided nor misled with the same rhetoric when it’s the same people who have been subjected to high commodity prices that keep fluctuating day by day rocked by the high inflation.

The Electorate in Ndola or any other place on the Copperbelt will not be made to falsely believe that the Economy of Zambia has improved when in actual fact it has not.The fundamental indicators project that there will even be a negative Growth Domestic Product of 2.4% retardation by the end of 2020.Other than Politicking Edgar Lungu’s administration was suppose to seriously reflect on how they are going to handle the pending recession. The Economics of Ndola has not been spared from the overall Country’s weak Gross domestic Product that has culminated into a poor net Purchasing Power Parity.The ordinary Zambians purchasing Power has been eroded.We are in a Country that only favours a few Elite in this Economic decline caused by outright corruption and mass mismanagement of the Economy.

Apart from being Copperbelt’s administrative town Ndola was until the beginning of the 90s the hub of Zambia’s Light and heavy Industrial line plant production.It also boasted of weaving plants that included a thriving yawning and spinning clothing Industry.This Production covered the Country and beyond in exports.It was the Northern regional inter trade Centre where the impact of the devalued Kwacha has had devastating effects.
What development has the PF brought to this once vibrant Industrial Area ever since they came to Power.The answer is ” Nothing Significant”.

Ndola boasted of over 200 Viable Production Companies in the Ndola Industrial Area.Dynamos and Electrical motors ran day and night.We had shift workers trooping into the Industrial area day and night.
Ndola’s life line has been predominantly of a Manufacturing nature coupled with service provision to the Mines of the Copperbelt.

What has the PF done to Ndola with regard to there Industrialisation Policy ? For those who would want to care this is a place that has now been turned into a dumping ground of imported goods through the provision of Warehousing in the same Industrial area.As if that was not enough it is littered with Chinese finished products from the Central Business District to the Townships areas.

A few days a ago the Copperbelt Minister Honorable Mwakalombe once again proudly officially opened another Large Warehousing in the CBD of Ndola District.

Can the PF tell the Nation how many manufacturing plants they have commissioned so far to provide the much needed employment to out Unemployed Ndola residents the Youth in particular with formal employment.
The Patriotic Front Industrialisation policy through the IDC has had no impact in our development circle Seven years down the line.

They have failed to improve even on the already existing Industrial infrastructure like INDENI.A serious re-investment in this Energy plant would have ultimately lowered the cost of doing business directly and enhanced Job creation as fuel is an engine of Economic growth.

INDENI is one quasi Government Industry that is now obsolete despite it having been faithful to the Zambian Economy for last 46 years.Courtesy to his Excellency Kenneth Kaunda.

This Energy refinery plant also in the City of Ndola has never seen an upgrade from the time it was commissioned in 1974.

The National Democratic Congress has a well defined Industrialisation Policy that encompasses the Energy sector.

From the 2011 Study INDENI Just required 5 million Dollars at the time for an additional high tech processing upgrade Unit.

The plant just does fractional distillation of separation of Commingled Oil in its unit output of Petrol Diesel ,kerosene etc.

Once upgraded this plant would have the capability to spike the actual Crude oil.

Zambia would save more than 250 million dollars that is wasted year in year out through middle Men.
Just by a mere 5 million dollars this plant would be modernised. Compare and contrast this amount of only 5 million dollars with the wasted resources through an irresponsible, careless , insensitive and lack of Vision dubious Procurement tendencies that characterised the PF Government .They have turned our procurement system into conduits of syphoning state resources with impunity. The dubious procuring ranged from overpriced Ambulances, Fire tenders , Digital migration ,Road construction name them that have plunged the Nation into debt distress.Our fiscal space has finally been suffocated with reckless Loan contraction while the production sector has dwindled.

The National Democratic Congress will enhance fiscal discipline in the governance system.It targets to diversify the Economy of the Copperbelt into Agricultural clusters.Ndola has a latitude for expansion.It needs to be repackaged with a new 21st century Industrial block that will attract new investment.

The comparative advantage of the inter-link trade corridor of the Democratic republic of Congo has not been fully utilized. This would enhance more Economic activities for our people on the Copper belt. The PF must prepare for there exist