News - Middle East - UAE: The UAE has acquired a special Israeli hacking tool for espionage and its use against Yemeni officials and activists opposed to it.

Researchers from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, who worked with Microsoft, issued a report on Thursday revealing that an Israeli company that sells spyware to governments has sold one to several countries,  primarily the UAE, to spy on opponents.

Documents stated that UAE paid about five million dollars to the Israeli Kandero Group in exchange for the spyware program that can infiltrate the Windows system.

According to the documents, the UAE targeted ministers and senior officials,  as well as ministers and senior officials in Yemen, including Socotra Governor Ramzi Mahrous, who is known for his opposition to UAE presence in the country.

The Emirati authorities have also targeted, using Israeli techniques, journalists and activists opposing its aggressive role in the country and its support for armed militias.

The report stated that personalities who were targeted by the UAE some of them reside in Yemen and others in Europe and Turkey, but they are united by the opposition of Abu Dhabi and the continuous condemnation of its plots.

The spy product, which UAE contracted with Israeli developer, is among the many intelligence products sold through a secret sector that finds vulnerabilities in software platforms commonly used by its clients.

Security researchers conducted a technical analysis and concluded in detail how the tool sold by Kanderu was able to hack into the account of officials and activists in Yemen.

Citizen Lab researchers found evidence that this spyware was able to extract information from several applications used by victims, including Gmail, Skype, Telegram and Facebook.