Cyberspies target Egyptian American writer Mona Eltahawy
By Raphael Satter
San Francisco Gate
Egyptian American author Mona Eltahawy is one of many activists and human rights advocates targeted in a sweeping cyberespionage campaign blamed on Egypt’s government, the Associated Press has found.
A booby-trapped email sent to Eltahawy shows that she was targeted by the same password-stealing technique used to try to compromise staff at more than half a dozen Egyptian human rights organizations. Digital clues such as matching email addresses employed to send the malicious messages and the use of the same credential-harvesting website proved the same actor was involved.
Eltahawy, a fierce critic of Egypt’s government who has frequently complained about state surveillance, said she felt violated but not surprised.
“I’m used to this from the Egyptian regime,” she said in a series of telephone conversations. “I’m not trying to belittle what they’ve done, but I’m used to this.”
Officials in Cairo have yet to speak publicly about the barrage of malicious messages, also known as phishing emails, sent to civil society figures in recent months. The campaign, exposed by Internet watchdog group Citizen Lab earlier this month, prompted Eltahawy to tweet that she was among its targets. Eltahawy’s partner later forwarded copies of the emails to the AP.
The message itself was closely tailored to Eltahawy’s concerns. An outspoken commentator on feminism, the Arab world and Egypt, Eltahawy was a constant media presence during the country’s 2011 uprising. She also has a sizable following on Twitter, where she regularly shares news about activists caught up in Egypt’s grinding crackdown on dissent. Ever since Egypt’s 2013 military takeover, local rights groups have had their assets frozen, their staff detained and their leaders banned from traveling abroad.
Eltahawy and other activists blame the government for the break-in. An Egyptian Interior Ministry official insisted to the AP — on condition of anonymity — that officials weren’t involved.
