The Italian software company Hacking Team was hacked on Monday, July 6. Large portions of company's client list, invoices and personal emails were leaked on the Internet, causing a major uproar, especially among human rights and privacy activists.

According to the material, Hacking Team sold software to repressive regimes like Sudan and Ethiopia, which then used it to spy on human rights activists and journalists trying to expose government abuses.

Illegal trade?

On the day of the hacking, the Italian Coalition for Civil Rights and Freedoms (CILD) sent requests to the Italian government to explain the situation and whether the company was allowed to export its products despite international agreements and a UN embargo on Sudan.

CILD forwarded a number of questions to the Italian Foreign Affairs and the Economic Development Ministries, asking them to clarify their position and the evaluation criteria concerning export licenses. Yesterday, July 27, CILD resubmitted its requests for answers.

No replies

This was also part of the research that CILD has been conducting with Privacy International: as a matter of fact, the UK-based organization had already inquired about the matter last year, without getting any reply.

According to reports from 2014, the Lombardy region had financed Hacking Team through venture capital funding in 2007. Last year, the governor of Lombardy received a request to explain the situation by Privacy International, but never replied.