“Israeli company sold spy software to Myanmar”

Israeli technology company Cognyte Software signed a deal in early 2021 to sell spy software to Myanmar’s largest telecom company, MPT. That happened just before the military coup on February 1 of that year, in which government leader Aung San Suu Kyi was deposed. This is evident from documents that the Reuters news agency has seen.

That was banned in a 2017 Israeli Supreme Court ruling, and Israel says it has since banned the sale of military technology to Myanmar.

The spy software can be used to eavesdrop on phone conversations, read text messages and emails, track internet usage and find out someone’s location without the involvement of telecom or internet providers.

Human rights lawyer Eitay Mack, who was also behind the Supreme Court ruling, wants a criminal investigation into the case. He has filed a complaint against Cognyte and Defense and State Department officials who oversee such deals. They are accused of complicity in crimes against humanity in Myanmar.

The complaint was made on behalf of more than 60 people, including a former parliament speaker and prominent activists, scientists and writers.

Reuters and Mack have seen a letter from Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to local regulators through the action group Justice for Myanmar. This states that Cognyte won the tender for spy technology, and that the purchase order was issued on December 30, 2020.

None of the parties involved would like to answer questions from Reuters. The Israeli judiciary has not yet responded to the request for a criminal investigation. Both ministries involved declined to comment.

However, two sources with knowledge of Myanmar’s espionage plans told Reuters that MPT tested Cognyte’s system. The junta is said to have been using spyware for some time without taking into account the protection of human rights.

Even before the 2021 military coup, there was concern in Israel about the supply of military equipment to Myanmar. In the Asian country, the army cracked down on the Rohingyaminderheid, who fled en masse, mainly to neighboring Bangladesh. Thousands of people were killed, as well as other human rights violations such as rape and displacement.

In 2017, this performance prompted Mack to ask the Supreme Court to rule on arms transfers to the country.

Since the coup in 2021, the military regime has killed thousands of people, including political opponents, according to the UN. Former president Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in the coup and has since been impeached several times convictedto a total of 77 years in prison.