An international investigation in partnership with Haaretz has uncovered a vast global surveillance operation involving an Indonesian company, First Wap, which allegedly sold advanced tracking technology used to monitor journalists, political figures, businesspeople, and even an Israeli prosecutor who later led the corruption case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Haaretz-backed inquiry, conducted with the investigative organization Lighthouse Reports and media outlets across Europe and Asia, more than 14,000 phone numbers across 160 countries were targeted between 2007 and 2014 using First Wap’s geolocation tools. The company, originally founded in Jakarta in 1995, was among the first to commercialize cellphone surveillance technologies, making it a pioneer in what is now known as the digital intelligence industry.
Among the Israeli victims were Barak Orland, a businessman based in Uganda with close ties to President Yoweri Museveni, and Liat Ben Ari, who would later prosecute Netanyahu. Orland’s phone was successfully geolocated multiple times across Turkey and Uganda, while seven attempts were made to track Ben Ari shortly after she was appointed a senior Tel Aviv prosecutor in 2012. Though the attempts on Ben Ari failed, others did not.
The leaked dataset, reviewed by Haaretz and its partners, revealed the surveillance of more than 300 Israelis, including figures from Israel’s burgeoning cyber-intelligence industry. Ironically, many who once developed offensive cyber tools found themselves on the receiving end of similar technologies. Businessmen such as Mati Kochavi and Haim Taib, both early players in Israel’s defense and technology markets, appeared on the target list alongside Tal Silberstein, a political consultant known for his influence operations.
The investigation also identified tracking attempts on international figures including journalists covering corruption at the Vatican, regime critics in Africa, and celebrities such as actor Jared Leto. In one striking case, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi was tracked while investigating Vatican corruption in 2012. Internal emails indicate that the Vatican was in contact with a British reseller considering the purchase of First Wap’s systems at the time.
First Wap’s surveillance relied on vulnerabilities in the SS7 protocol, which underpins global cellular communication. This loophole allows location tracking and interception of unencrypted messages. Despite warnings from cybersecurity experts, few telecom operators implemented sufficient defenses.
In undercover footage recorded at the ISS World Expo in Prague earlier this year, First Wap representatives boasted about their technology’s resilience and lack of ethical restrictions compared to competitors like Israel’s NSO Group. Their products, marketed under the name Altamides (Advanced Location Tracking and Mobile Information and Deception System), reportedly include capabilities for SMS interception, social media hijacking, and spoofing messages to deceive or infect targets.
First Wap denied all allegations, insisting it has “never provided any tracking services to government entities” and that its tools are sold only to vetted clients with “verified legal mandates.” The company also accused investigators of “deceptive tactics” and threatened legal action.
The findings highlight growing concerns about the unregulated spread of surveillance technology and its potential misuse by private actors. As Haaretz noted, the same industry that once positioned Israel at the forefront of digital intelligence now finds its veterans ensnared in the very networks they helped create.
