Bulgaria Let Circles Export Surveillance Tech to Repressive Regimes, Human Rights Watch Says
Published
Key Takeaways
- License Window: Bulgaria approved Circles' surveillance exports from 2018 through 2023, per Human Rights Watch.
- Repressive Buyers: Clients included agencies in the UAE, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and more.
- Intellexa Link: Circles co-founder Tal Dilian was found guilty by a Greek court in February over Intellexa.
Bulgaria's government allowed the surveillance firm Circles to export powerful monitoring technology to repressive regimes between 2018 and 2023, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The findings draw on export licensing records from the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Industry.
Where Circles Sold Its Surveillance Tech
The records show Bulgaria authorized Circles to sell surveillance tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies in El Salvador, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Serbia, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Bahrain, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, and Panama. Many of these countries hold long records of crushing dissent and surveilling journalists.
Circles sold several distinct systems:
- Pixcell – line of IMSI-catchers described as a “tactical SIGINT [signal intelligence] system that intercepts voice data, messages, and internet data for specific cellular devices.”
- Landmark – described as a “network-based solution,” which allows users to “collect, process, validate and manage information for conducting intelligence operations, based on the location of mobile subscribers.”
- Saphire – according to the exporter, “allows a command to be sent to a mobile operator via a remote terminal to assign a new IP address to a specific device”.
- Voice Over Location Enabler (VOLE) – exploits the SS7 protocol to remotely intercept targets' incoming and outgoing voice calls along with both parties' locations.
Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told POLITICO that the Circles-provided documentation showed that the technologies are intended for "activities related to the prevention and investigation of crime and terrorism, as well as for search and rescue operations in humanitarian crises," assessing end-use documents and information received through official channels.
EU Export Controls Under Scrutiny
Human Rights Watch researcher Zach Campbell criticized the oversight failures. The European Commission said member states are solely responsible for dual-use licensing decisions.
The Bulgarian ministry documents also show licensed exports to Q Cyber Technologies and NSO Group in Israel, Human Rights Watch says. The records cover only through 2023, leaving the 2025–2026 status unclear.
Circles was co-founded by Tal Dilian, the executive behind the blacklisted spyware firm Intellexa, the spyware consortium behind Predator, POLITICO says.
In February, a Greek court found Dilian and three other Intellexa executives guilty on charges relating to how Intellexa was used to spy on 90+ people in Greece. The U.S. Treasury lifted sanctions on executives previously linked to the Intellexa company and Predator spyware.
Related
Get expert insights on threats, breaches, scams, and security trends — delivered every Monday.
Most Popular
Get expert insights on threats, breaches, scams, and security trends — delivered every Monday.
Most Popular