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Egypt starts monitoring online communications

Egyptian authorities have commenced ‘unprecedented’ monitoring of Egyptians using Facebook, Skype, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber and more, reported BuzzFeed News.

According to BuzzFeed News, Egypt has contracted See Egypt, the sister company of the US cyber security firm Blue Coat, to allow authorities access to private online communications.

Several government officials spoken to commented that See Egypt had commenced work with the government and has planned to provide authorities with ‘Deep Packet Inspection’ technology, allowing the government to track and closely scrutinize information gathered from the monitoring of online communications.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Ali Miniesy, the CEO of See Egypt, confirmed that See Egypt has the ability to the proper training and programs to “penetrate WhatsApp, Viber, Skype or other programs if needed.”

The news from BuzzFeed comes three months after Egypt’s Ministry of Interior announced that it would be implementing a program aimed at “detecting social network security threats and identifying persons representing a danger to society.”

Egypt’s interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim had released a statement claiming the regulation was intended to focus on developing Egypt’s security by monitoring criminal activity online.

The Minister, in June, added that the monitoring would provide the Ministry with information about illegal topics and issues against public morals and traditions.

A report leaked by state media newspaper Al-Ahram in June revealed that the monitoring will also aim to “create a database for influential persons and persons of interests and registering their connections with others.”

Egyptian social media users have reacted strongly against the move to monitor communications, criticizing its negative impacts on privacy and freedom of self-expression.



Source: http://egyptianstreets.com/2014/09/18/egypt-starts-monitoring-online-conversations/

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