Apple, Google and Mozilla block the Government of Kazakhstan's browser espionage tool



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  • Google, Mozilla and Apple have blocked an encryption certificate issued by the Government of Kazakhstan, which citizens were asked to install on their browsers and that critics said they allowed the government to monitor their Internet traffic.
  • The government reportedly said the software was a security measure, but researchers at the University of Michigan found that the installation of the browser certificate allowed the government to control the sites users viewed and see what the user displayed or displayed.
  • According to the researchers, the fake certificate targeted 37 sites, including email applications owned by Google, Google Docs, Instagram, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and a number of Russian social media services.
  • According to StatCounter, Google Chrome is by far the most popular browser in Kazakhstan, with a market share of nearly 70%.
  • Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

Google, Mozilla and Apple are blocking an encryption certificate issued by the Government of Kazakhstan, which citizens were asked to download, and which, according to critics, would allow the government to monitor users' Internet traffic.

The update means that Google Chrome, Firefox Mozilla and Apple Safari all automatically block the "fake" certificate.

The Kazakh government reportedly said the software was a security measure, but Google and Mozilla said that once installed, the certificate would allow the government to decrypt and read anything that the user would type or post, including intercepting account information and passwords.

This study was based on a study of the Censored Planet project of the University of Michigan, which had revealed that the government was targeting 37 interception sites, including: A number of Google-owned sites, such as Gmail, YouTube , Google Docs, Allo and Google. Translate; Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger; and Russian social media sites, including VKontakte and Mail.ru.

Read more: It seems like Apple is ready to enter the 5G arms race, which is good news if you run a business from an iPhone.

According to StatCounter, Chrome is by far the most popular browser in Kazakhstan, with a market share of nearly 70%.

"We will never tolerate any attempt, by any organization, government or otherwise, to compromise Chrome's user data, we have safeguards against this specific problem and will always take steps to protect our users from the world." whole ", Parisa Tabriz, senior technical director of Google Chrome, also wrote Wednesday.

"People around the world trust Firefox to protect them when they surf the Internet, especially when it comes to protecting them from such attacks that compromise their security."

"We do not take such measures lightly, but the reason for being Firefox is to protect our users and the integrity of the Web," said Marshall Erwin, senior director of trust and privacy. security at Mozilla.

Apple has confirmed to several news agencies that it will also block this certificate.

A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request.

Mozilla pointed out that it was not the first time that the government of Kazakhstan was trying to intercept the Internet traffic of its citizens. In 2015, the government of Kazakhstan attempted to include a root certificate in Mozilla's trusted root storage program, the company said.

"After discovering that they were planning to use the certificate to intercept user data, Mozilla rejected the request." Shortly after, the government forced citizens to manually install its certificate, but this attempt failed after organizations filed lawsuits. "

Business Insider sought the advice of the Kazakh Embassy in London but did not get an immediate response.

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