An Ethiopian-born American citizen sued the Ethiopian government on Tuesday for installing secret spyware on his personal computer within U.S. borders.
The plaintiff -- referred to in the lawsuit by the pseudonym “Mr. Kidane” -- claimed that the spyware wiretapped his private Skype calls and monitored his family’s every use of the computer for several months. Kidane said the spying violates the U.S. Wiretap Act and state privacy laws, and he is seeking a jury trial and damages.
“We have clear evidence of a foreign government secretly infiltrating an American’s computer in America, listening to his calls, and obtaining access to a wide swath of his private life,” said Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (a nonprofit that is representing Kidane), on the EFF’s website. Cardozo also referred to Ethiopia’s “well-documented history of human rights violations” and hinted that Kidane had been, in some capacity, critical of Ethiopia’s government.
“U.S. laws protect Americans from this type of unauthorized electronic spying, regardless of who is responsible,” Cardozo said.
