Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2021
U.S. criminal case involving former operatives
Three former operatives linked to DarkMatter-associated work were indicted for alleged computer fraud and improper technology exports and entered deferred-prosecution agreements.
2021
Loujain al-Hathloul lawsuit
Loujain al-Hathloul filed a U.S. lawsuit alleging that former intelligence and military personnel working for DarkMatter helped extract information from her iPhone, contributing to her arrest and subsequent detention.
2021
EFF sues DarkMatter over alleged hacking of Saudi activist
Lawsuit filed
The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit against spyware maker DarkMatter, alleging that it helped hack Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul’s iPhone. The lawsuit claims the hacking enabled secret monitoring of her communications and location; these are allegations, not findings reported in the source.
Source excerpt
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit against spyware maker DarkMatter, along with three former members of U.S. intelligence or military agencies, for allegedly hacking the iPhone of a prominent Saudi human rights activist.
Al-Hathloul — best known for her efforts in calling for greater women’s rights in Saudi Arabia — claims the ex-spies exploited a vulnerability in iMessage to illegally hack into her iPhone in order to secretly monitor her communications and location.
2019
Mozilla rejection and browser trust actions
Mozilla rejected DarkMatter’s trusted-certificate application, while Google reportedly blocked or flagged sites using DarkMatter-issued certificates after investigative reporting about Project Raven.
2017
Certificate-authority trust controversy
Researchers and whistleblowers objected to DarkMatter’s attempt to become a trusted certificate authority, warning that the capability could be abused to impersonate websites or intercept encrypted traffic.
2016
Project Raven surveillance allegations
DarkMatter reportedly replaced CyberPoint as contractor for Project Raven, a UAE-linked operation alleged to have used former U.S. intelligence personnel to hack governments, activists, journalists, and other targets.