Months before the coup, Myanmar army ordered intercept spyware

The technology gives the army the power to listen in on calls, view text messages & emails and track user location. In the months before the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup, the country’s telecom and internet service providers were ordered to install intercept spyware that would allow the army to eavesdrop on the communications of citizens, sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters. Telenor said in the December 3 briefing and statement posted on its websites that it was concerned about Myanmar authorities’ plans for a lawful intercept able to “directly access each operator and ISP’s systems without case-by-case approval” as Myanmar did not have sufficient laws and regulations to protect customers’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression. ‘Change sim cards all the time’ According to three sources at firms with knowledge of the surveillance system, not every telecom firm and internet service provider has installed the full intercept spyware. Within days, the army had secretly ordered telecom firms to block the phone numbers of activists, military government opponents and human rights lawyers, providing the firms with lists, according to three industry sources briefed on the matter.