Mozilla protests against spyware under the guise of Firefox

Unreal Chanterelle Firefox

The Mozilla organization has officially protested the use of the name Firefox to spy on users.

The well-known FinFisher spyware program (FinSpy) from Gamma International is used by governments of at least 36 countries to spy on citizens via mobile phones and PCs. From a recent report by Citizen Lab, it turned out that this software is distributed under the guise of the Firefox browser.


Left: FinSpy, right: Firefox 14.0.1
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Mozilla’s organization is categorically opposed to using its honest name for such “heinous” purposes. According to user surveys, Mozilla received the title of Most Trusted Internet Company for Privacy in 2012. “We cannot accept the fact that the software company uses our name to disguise online surveillance tools that can be used - and in some cases actually used - by Gamma clients to violate human rights and online privacy,” writes Alex Fowler who is responsible for politics and privacy in Mozilla.

From a legal point of view, Gamma International violates the law in several points.

1. The malicious program from Gamma International is installed in a file called “Firefox.exe” and demonstrates various browser properties, including version number, copyright and trademark, allegedly belonging to “Firefox and Mozilla Developers” (see the screenshot above). Thus, a false impression is created that Mozilla is related to this program.

2. For experts who will study spyware, it contains the literal manifesto of Firefox.