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The three defendants agreed to pay a fine of $1.68 million after a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Three “hire hackers” who worked in a company in the United Arab Emirates for the “profit” of the Abu Dhabi government agreed to pay a fine of $1.68 million as part of the legal settlement in the United States. According to the Ministry of Justice.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday that the suspects are two U.S. citizens and a former U.S. citizen who provided the UAE company with a “zero-click” computer hacking service, and “may take no action on the target.” Destroy the equipment under circumstances”.
It identified these people as 49-year-old Marc Baier, 34-year-old Ryan Adams, and 40-year-old former US citizen Daniel Gericke. American law allows Americans to renounce their citizenship.
According to the Department of Justice, all three previously worked for the US intelligence community or the US military.
This agreement is called the “Delayed Prosecution Agreement” and if the defendants comply with its terms, they will evade criminal charges.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Marklesco said in a statement: “Hire hackers and those who otherwise support such activities in violation of U.S. law should fully expect to be prosecuted for their criminal acts.”
“If left unregulated, the proliferation of offensive cyber capabilities will undermine global privacy and security.”
The UAE Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Tuesday night.
The Justice Department stated that it has repeatedly warned the three people that their work belongs to the defense service and requires special permission from the US government. For its part, the FBI promised to crack down on Americans who illegally provide hacking services.
“The FBI will fully investigate individuals and companies that profit from illegal cybercriminal activities,” Brian Warndland, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, said in a statement.
“This is a clear message for anyone, including former US government employees, who have considered using cyberspace to use export control information for the benefit of foreign governments or foreign commercial companies-this is risky and also There are consequences.”
Reuters reported that Bayer, Adams and Glick are part of a secret unit called Project Raven, which helps the UAE monitor its enemies around the world.
Bayer is a former official of the National Security Agency (NSA), and he is the head of the Raven project. 2019 Reuters survey This first reveals the existence of hacker units.
According to data from the Department of Justice, Bayer will pay the largest share of fines-750,000 U.S. dollars-while Adams and Glick will pay 600,000 U.S. dollars and 335,000 U.S. dollars, respectively. The three also agreed to waive any U.S. or foreign security clearances and fully cooperate with the FBI.
The UAE faces criticism from human rights groups for hacking what it believes to be opponents, including journalists and Human rights activist.
Earlier this year, a joint investigation by several media outlets revealed that many phone numbers may Pegasus’s targetThe spyware program developed by the Israeli private company NSO Group is related to the UAE.
The UAE denied the allegations of using Pegasus at the time, saying they “have no evidence basis.”
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