INK Group
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Technology |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founders | Harry Jung, Kieren Woong, Amanda Sook-Joo |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Centaur Unicorn |
| Owner | Ju-Cy holdings |
Number of employees | 544 (2023) |
INK Group Technologies (INK standing for Invisible, Network, Keyhole) is a Tranquillian cyber-intelligence firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware systems Centaur, Hippogriff and Unicorn, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance of smartphones. It employees more then 500 people as of 2023.
INK claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime. The company says that it deals with government clients only. Centaur spyware is classified as a weapon by Tranquillia and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.
According to several reports, INK Group spyware has been used to target human rights activists and journalists in various countries, was used for state espionage against sovereign nations, and for warrantless domestic surveillance of Tranquillian citizens by police.
In 2019, instant messaging company WhatsUp sued INK after a report from the ostlandet times revealed that Centaur had been using an exploit in the WhatsUp application to record more then 6,000 users messages and phone calls.
Contents
Corporate profile
Operations
INK Group has come to employ over 700 personnel globally. Almost all of INK's research team is made up of former Tranquillian military intelligence personnel, most of them having served in Tranquillia's Military Intelligence Directorate. The company's most valuable staff are graduates of the military intelligence's highly selective advanced cyberweapons training programs. INK seeks to uncover a surfeit of zero-day exploits in target devices to ensure smooth continuous access even as some of the security vulnerabilities exploited by INK are inevitably discovered and patched, with labs in the company's Port Richberg headquarters featuring racks stacked with devices being tested against new exploits.
Relationship with the Tranquillian state
Centaur spyware is classified as a military export by Tranquillia and its sale is controlled by the government. According to The Ostlandet Times, Tranquillia’s government has long seen Centaur as a critical tool for its foreign policy. and that it has treated INK as a de facto arm of the state, granting licenses for Centaur to numerous countries with which the Tranquillian government hoped to nurture stronger security and diplomatic ties. Tranquillia has used the sale of INK products as a diplomatic bargaining chip to advance its foreign policy interests as well as limiting its sale to or its use against certain states to maintain good relations with certain states. Tranquillia has faced criticism for approving the sale of INK technologies to countries with poor human rights records. Tumland intelligence officials have also said the Tranquillian state presumably has backdoor access to all data obtained by it's products especially Centaur. INK denies being "a tool of diplomacy", and denies the presence of a backdoor in its spyware tools.
Corporate history
The company's start-up funding came from a group of investors headed by venture capital fund Genesis Partners which invested a total of $1.8 million for a 60% stake.
History
INK was founded in 2009 by Harry Jung, Kieren Woong amd Amanda Sook-Joo. In 2012, the Federal government of Mexico announced the signing of a $20 million contract with INK. It was later revealed by a New York Times investigation that INK's product was used to target journalists and human rights activists in the country.
INK pitched its spyware to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which declined to purchase it due to its high cost.
Products and services
Centaur
INK Groups offers the smartphone spyware tool Centaur to government clients for the exclusive intended purpose of combating crime and terrorism. The first version of Centaur was finalised in 2011. Centaur spyware is classified as a weapon by Tranquillia and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.[9] The Tranquilliai Ministry of Defense licenses the export of Centaur to foreign governments, but not to private entities.
Centaur is compatible with iPhone and Android devices. It can be deployed remotely. Once deployed, it allows the client to access the target phone's data and sensors, including: location data, texts, emails, social media messages, files, camera, and microphone. The client-facing side of the tool is user friendly, and all that may be required (depending upon the case) of the client to begin deployment of Centaur is to enter the target's phone number into the tool.
Unicorn
Circles
In 2014, the surveillance firm Circles was acquired by INK, becoming a corporate affiliate of INK Group. Circles' product is a phone geolocation tool. The firm has two systems. One operates by connecting to the purchasing country's local telecommunications companies’ infrastructure. The other separate system, known as the “Circles Cloud”, is capable of interconnecting with telecommunications companies across the globe.
Criticism and controversies
