Five years ago, Bivol exposed the operations in Bulgaria of Circle, a surveillance company that eavesdrops on calls, texts and phone locations. The firm has registered in Bulgaria as a virtual telecom operator, Circles Bulgaria, to gain access to SS7 telecoms. Its software attacks the 3G encryption by using the SS7 network to track the location of phones even while roaming and to intercept unsecured short text messages and calls.
The business of Circles Bulgaria has prospered in recent years. The company is owned by the Cypriot company SS – Circles Solutions Limited. In 2017, it received a loan of USD 275 million from two offshore companies and a Swiss bank registered in the Cayman Islands. Its staff in Bulgaria has doubled in five years (2015 – 2020) and currently amounts to 150 people.
The reputable interdisciplinary laboratory CitizenLab released recently a study titled “Running in Circles, Uncovering the Clients of Cyberespionage Firm Circles”. It reveals that Circles has sold its spyware to countries with dictatorial regimes which often use it to monitor and repress dissidents.
The full text of the study in English can be found HERE.
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