Microsoft and technology human rights organization Citizen Lab claimed that an Israeli group offered a tool to hack into Microsoft Windows, revealing light on the increasing industry of identifying and selling methods to attack widely used software.
According to a Citizen Lab study, the hacking tool vendor Candiru produced and distributed a software vulnerability that can enter Windows, which is one of several intelligence products provided by a hidden business that identifies weaknesses in common software platforms for its clients.
Citizen Lab and Microsoft reports, show that the technical analysis by security researchers shows how Candiru’s hacking tool spread around the world to numerous unnamed customers, where it was then used to target various civil society organizations, including a Saudi dissident group and a left-leaning Indonesian news outlet.
Evidence of the exploit recovered by Microsoft Corp suggested it was deployed against users in several countries, including Iran, Lebanon, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to the Citizen Lab report.