US, Israeli companies supply spy gear to repressive regimes, report says

US and Israeli companies are supplying sophisticated surveillance technology to Central Asian nations with records of widespread human rights abuses, giving state security services virtually unchecked power to monitor the communications of ordinary citizens, according to a new report by Privacy International.

Researchers for the watchdog group, based in London, allege that the spy gear sold by these companies is key to the functioning of police states that smother the exercise of free speech, political dissent and other basic rights, while helping authoritarian governments maintain their grip on power. The report offers detailed accounts of the functioning of surveillance systems in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries. It also singles out several companies for their roles in supplying the technology, including Verint Systems, based in Melville (NY); Netronome, based in Santa Clara (CA); and Nice Systems, based in Israel.