Russian surveillance tech company Protei hacked, website defaced – Tech Digest

Share

Protei, a Russian telecoms company that develops and sells technologies enabling government web surveillance and censorship, has been hit by a significant cyberattack.

The breach resulted in the theft of a massive amount of data and the public defacement of its website.

Founded in Russia but now headquartered in Jordan, the company supplies telecommunications systems, including powerful deep packet inspection (DPI) technology as well as intercept equipment for Russia’s SORM surveillance system.

While the exact date of the hack is unclear, a copy of Protei’s website shows it was defaced on November 8, though it was quickly restored. During the breach, the hacker successfully obtained approximately 182 gigabytes of files from the company’s web server, including years of internal emails and the complete contents of the server.

This stolen archive of data has since been provided to DDoSecrets, a non-profit transparency collective that publishes leaked datasets in the public interest.

The identity of the hacker and the full scope of their motivations remain officially unknown. However, the message left on the defaced site – which reads “another DPI/SORM provider bites the dust” – offers a strong indication of the attack’s political or ideological purpose.

The message directly references the controversial nature of Protei’s products. The SORM system is Russia’s primary method for obtaining the contents of calls, text messages, and browsing data from citizens.

DPI technology, which Protei touts for its ability to restrict or block access to specific websites for certain populations, is often deployed in regimes where freedom of expression is limited. The attack is thus strongly suggested to be a targeted action against a key enabler of state-level digital surveillance.

The breach underscores the escalating cyber risks faced by companies in the surveillance technology sector, particularly those whose products are used to compromise privacy and limit free speech. Protei’s managing director in Jordan has yet to comment on the breach.

For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv