Barcelona Has Become The Epicenter Of Spy Technology.
Controversial Business Moves To Europe To Protect Itself From Sanctions.
Controversial Business indeed. One can tell much about a story just by the headline sometimes. As soon as we saw this one, the first thing we thought, was this is a business run by Jews. Which probably means that these stores selling these alleged spy techs, are probably fake and everything going on there is a scam and a con.
In late 2023, an Israeli cybersecurity researcher from Tel Aviv was recruited through LinkedIn for a high-paying job abroad. Representatives of the company assured that this is a legitimate organization in the field of offensive security (Offensive Security), which is just starting its activities in Barcelona. However, the recruitment process made the researcher suspicious.
In an interview with TechCrunch, the specialist said that communication was accompanied by strange secrecy. Some company employees refused to give their full names and did not disclose the location of the office or even the name of the company for a long time. The researcher noted that it appeared to be an attempt to hide potentially problematic activity.
The company was presented by Alexey Levin, a former developer of spyware manufacturer NSO Group. Levin said the company is called Palm Beach Networks and develops sophisticated spyware ranging from exploits to spyware.
Barcelona was not chosen for a startup by chance. Company employees explained that the city is attractive due to its comfortable climate, tax incentives and developed infrastructure for IT business. However, this choice is questionable given the recent scandals surrounding the use of spyware against politicians and activists in Spain.
Barcelona has become a hotspot for companies developing exploits and spyware in recent years. Among them are the startup Paradigm Shift, which emerged after the collapse of Variston, and the company Epsilon, founded by a former employee of the defense giant L3Harris. In addition, Israeli developers who previously worked in Singapore have also settled in this Catalan city, making it a European hub for similar organizations.
The reasons for companies moving from Israel to Barcelona lie not only in the climate and favorable taxes. After a series of scandals with NSO Group, Israeli authorities began to restrict the export of spy technology, which forced firms to look for more friendly jurisdictions in the EU.
However, Palm Beach Networks has already ceased to exist under this name. According to the documents, she changed several legal entities, including Defense Prime Inc. and Head and Tail, which continues to operate in Spain. Head and Tail representatives do not comment on their activities, but on their website the company states that it deals with cybersecurity issues, including threat analysis and incident response, but the employees have experience working for well-known spyware manufacturers.
The Israeli researcher refused an offer to work at Palm Beach Networks, fearing a repeat of the fate of NSO Group employees who faced blocking of their accounts on social networks and visa problems in the United States. According to the specialist, working in a company with such a closed structure is too much of a risk, despite the high salary.