back to article Libya's new rulers fire up Gaddafi's surveillance tech

Libya's transitional government has quietly reactivated the surveillance technology it inherited from the Gaddafi regime, the Wall Street Journal reports. The technology is been used to track the mobile phone calls and online communications of Gaddafi loyalists. Government officials told the paper that they have seen dozens of …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As Mr Townsend and Mr Daltry said many moons ago, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!".

    1. LarsG
      Alert

      The

      THE MORE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME.

    2. Muckminded

      They were digging up Frost:

      Yes, revolutions are the only salves,

      But they're the one thing that should be done by halves.

  2. jake Silver badge

    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    Pardon as I get a trifle Juvenal on the subject ...

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. g e
    Joke

    I wouldn't mind doing a little monitoring of my own....

    Thank you, Will Smith...

    (Enemy of the State in case you needed telling)

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    American Goverment

    American policies. No surprises there.

    1. Barry Dingle

      Re: American Goverment

      Let me know which unintrusive land of shiny rainbows and constant blowjobs you live in, I will suffer steerage-class transit to come join you.

      1. Crisp
        Go

        Re: land of shiny rainbows and constant blowjobs

        We're a bunch of relatively smart people. I'm sure we could create a land like that if we put our minds to it.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: American Goverment

        Welcome to Rapture. Please bring some spare plumbing equipment as we've had a few leaks recently.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    they look up to us

    i.e. the finest examples of advanced western democracy, all they do is imitate.

    And now, with democracy and freedom firmly established in the land of Libya, all those businesses with offers of advanced technology, who might have been a little edgy in the days of the evil dictatorship, would be scrambling over themselves to help the new democracy with the same western/Chinese technology, etc.

  7. Khaptain Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    Dont forget to look at the suppliers

    "Surveillance equipment was sold to the Gaddafi regime by suppliers in France, China and South Africa"

    This actually says as much about the suppliers as it does about the libyans.

    The technology has been available for a long time, here's looking at you "Echelon", so there's nothing really new here.

    As a side point : It's a bit like asking IT Geeks not to open the box marked "Contains Highly Sophisticated Material" in the corner of the room.

    1. Mr Temporary Handle

      Re: Dont forget to look at the suppliers

      "

      "Surveillance equipment was sold to the Gaddafi regime by suppliers in France, China and South Africa"

      This actually says as much about the suppliers as it does about the libyans.

      "

      Hmm...

      France and South Africa have a very long history of acting as middlemen supplying weapons and other embargoed materials. China is where most of this type of surveillance equipment is manufactured.

      The true origin is probably the US and/or somewhere in Europe.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Dont forget to look at the suppliers

        Not necessarily.

        You are likely to find that the original Lybian phone equipment was by Alcatel. So it is not surprising that it required a legal intercept module built by Alcatel. Add to that big H or little Z mobile to provide for cellular service (and snooping it) and probably Internet as well.

        So it is quite likely that none of them acted as middlemen for USA or rest of Europe in this case.

        1. Khaptain Silver badge

          Re: Dont forget to look at the suppliers

          As well as Alcatel there are other companies such as Thales which easily have the know-how ( definately on a military level ) to create and provide all the required equipment.

          I believe that the DGSE are already well equiped from within.

          The French even have their own equivalant off Echelon which some clod apptly named named "Frenchelon.... cough, cough"..

  8. schotness

    & we in NATO paid for this!

    The money would have been better spent in 1956 further east.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Libyans then?

    Humans are just power hungry greedy illegitimi them.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think this happens following almost all revolutions

    You lose the "evil" dominant central power and gain quite a few of smaller groups battling it out between themselves, often using more devilish methods than in the past.

  11. asdf
    FAIL

    hmm

    Anybody else imagining pigs trying to walk like humans? Orwell and Turing, the WW2 era sure was a bonanza for great English artists/thinkers.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apes not pigs

    Very accurate, asdf. And pigs are more colourful than apes - which is what we really are. If we could just adjust to that basic reality and get over ourselves, we would have a better chance of survival and happiness. All apes want to have a strong, undisputed, competent leader - and what they get is Qadafi, Saddam Hussein, Assad, Obama, Cameron or Blair. You can risk (or lose) your life and make huge sacrifices to overthrow one if you like - another one will be along shortly, indistinguishable except for the paintwork. Or you can walk along the street every four or five years and cast your vote. Same difference.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Great Day

    To quote The Great Day by W B Yeats

    Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot!

    A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot.

    Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again!

    The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on.

This topic is closed for new posts.