Egypt spy software Bangalore staff
By Pulkit Sharma

For thirty years, Egypt’s President and dictator Mubarak ruled with an iron fist.  Democratic opposition was stifled.  Executive and Judiciary were compromised.  The secret police, with help from US / Indian tech firms, had eyes everywhere and stifled any emerging opposition.  All that ended last night, when non violent demonstrators finally forced the dictator to resign. 

American organization Savetheinternet was the first to break the news that a U.S. company Narus has been selling Internet spying software to Egypt.  Narus is a Sunnyvale, California, Internet surveillance and filtering company begun by Israeli security experts, and subsequently bought by Boeing. The company has links to the America’s top secret electronic spying organization NSA.

Savetheinternet had reported that California Headquarted Narus' many cyber-sleuthing products includes one called "Hone," which can filter through billions of packets of online data to target individuals on social networks and then link that information to their "VOIP conversations, biometrically identify someone's voice or photograph and then associate it with different phone numbers." Those using cell phones or Wi-Fi connections can then be located geographically.

Democratically elected Governments like India and America can use all such technology to protect its citizens from terrorists, but Narus has sold the technology to countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and even Pakistan where people have yet to get a full taste of self rule.  Should tech companies only sell such technology to democratic Governments?

Regular readers of Techgoss are well aware that a large number of our articles are crowd sourced.  People send in tips, story ideas and even articles. Many of our contributors have full times jobs in IT-ITES, and so prefer using a pseudonym.  A Techgoss Tipster who works in the security sector wrote in to say that Narus has a strong Indian connection as well.  He sent us this link to Defenceworld about Boeing acquiring Narus Networks in 2010

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Narus is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has a strong presence in Bangalore. “This acquisition is another step forward in our strategy to develop integrated solutions for better network visibility, threat detection, and cybersecurity,” said Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network & Space Systems, a business within the Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) operating unit. “Narus' India team and their unique capabilities to secure complex networks will be a significant benefit to Boeing and our customers.” In addition to supporting cyber activities within Boeing Network & Space Systems, Narus' network-centric technology also will be applied to Boeing’s smart grid energy work, the secure networking of Boeing’s ground, air and space products, and the defense of the Boeing network.

“In recent years, the need for cybersecurity has dramatically increased across the world and in India,” said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing India president. “Cyberspace is an increasingly crucial battlefield in which governments and businesses alike must defend themselves. Combining the modeling and simulation capabilities Boeing has here in India with Narus' technical capabilities demonstrates our commitment to designing and securing customer networks in order to protect vital information. With this acquisition, we have further diversified and strengthened our portfolio here, which makes this yet another milestone in Boeing’s deepening engagement in India.” Last year, Boeing announced the opening of its Boeing Research & Technology-India centre in Bengaluru as well as the joint development with Bharat Electronics Limited of an analysis and experimentation center in India.

Narus' Bangalore office, located five kilometers away from Boeing’s Bengaluru centre, provides a base of operations for its employees, many of whom bring diverse experience from leading technology companies.
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