The remote-access and surveillance platform particularly focused on tracking the use of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Feathercoin and Namecoin using its newly developed functionality called the Remote Control System Galileo. With this software, the company hacked the users’ wallets, waited for the passwords to be entered and gained complete access to their details (transaction history and contact information), depriving them of the anonymity feature that the cryptocurrencies are known for. The software is invisible to the user, evades antivirus and firewalls, and tracks all the transactions and information without draining the device battery.
Hacking Team provided intrusion and surveillance software to governments and law enforcement agencies around the world. Its customer list includes the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and UK National Crime Agency (NCA).
In July 2015, the group was publically dismantled as around 400GB of stolen internal company documents were distributed online. The data included everything from the software vulnerabilities used by Team Hacking products to spy on people, to e-mail and customer records. The leaked data also contained documents suggesting Hacking Team sold its surveillance products to countries that the United Nations, NATO, European Parliament and the US have placed under export restrictions either due to human rights violations or because Hacking Teams products would be designated as weapons.
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