Samsung Embeds Israeli Surveillance App on Phones Across MENA
According to SMEX, Samsung's A and M series devices either come preloaded with the app 'Aura' or install it automatically through system updates, without the user's consent. The application reportedly collects a wide range of personal and device-specific data, including IP addresses, device fingerprints, hardware details, and network information.
These data points, SMEX warns, can be used to easily identify users—especially when location tracking is enabled on any apps installed via Aura. This creates a grave security risk in a region where Israel has repeatedly used technology as a tool of surveillance and violence.
While the app's privacy settings claim users can disable data collection by turning off 'AppCloud' in the app list, deletion requires submitting a form that does not exist—effectively making it impossible to fully remove unless the user possesses advanced technical knowledge.
In 2022, Samsung MENA partnered with Israeli tech company IronSource, integrating its Aura software into Galaxy A and M series phones across the region. The partnership was publicly marketed as a way to 'enhance user experience' with AI-powered apps and content suggestions.
However, the scale and stealth of the data collection have triggered growing concern, which became terrifyingly real in September 2024, when Israel carried out a terrorist attack in Lebanon using booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies allegedly linked to Hezbollah members.
These devices were remotely detonated in public spaces, killing 42 people, including children and health workers, and injuring over 3,500—many left with long-term serious physical injuries and psychological trauma.
Disturbingly, the attack was praised by pro-Israel politicians and Western media outlets—a reaction that ignored the chilling implications for anyone with a cellphone. If digital proximity to a targeted individual is enough to get you killed, then no one is safe from the expanding reach of Israel's tech-driven warfare.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Morocco World
3 hours ago
- Morocco World
Al Aqsa Director, Palestinian Presidential Advisor Acknowledge Moroccan Gaza Aid
Marrakech – The director of Al Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Al Kiswani, has expressed deep gratitude to King Mohammed VI for Morocco's emergency humanitarian and medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza. In a statement to MAP, Morocco's news agency, Sheikh Al Kiswani commended the country for its 'incessant efforts in support of the Palestinian people,' describing the royal initiative as 'an act of benevolence to alleviate suffering' for Gaza's population, who lack basic necessities. 'These laudable efforts are highly appreciated by our families in Palestine and the residents of the Holy City,' Sheikh Al Kiswani stated. He specifically recognized Morocco's continued support through various projects, particularly programs from the Bayt Mal Al Quds Acharif Agency that preserve Jerusalem's civilizational heritage and Islamic identity. Mahmoud El Habache, the religious affairs and Islamic relations advisor to the Palestinian president, echoed this sentiment. 'This noble royal gesture follows the line of multiple initiatives by the Sovereign in favor of the Palestinian cause,' El Habache told MAP. King Mohammed VI is a 'great humanist' and genuine ally of the Palestinian cause He described the monarch's action as demonstrating 'great humanist fiber and spirit of solidarity' toward Palestinians, especially Gaza residents. For Palestinians, 'these human gestures are not foreign to the Kingdom of Morocco,' El Habache argued. Instead, he elaborated, they embody the Moroccan people's commitment to uphold solidarity values with Palestinians under King Mohammed VI's leadership. El Habache characterized the aid as 'a new illustration of the major role of His Majesty the King, President of the Al-Qods Committee, in support of the Palestinian people and their causes.' The aid package, totaling nearly 180 tons, contains essential food supplies, milk, specialized products for children, medicines, and surgical equipment for vulnerable populations. It also includes blankets, adapted tents, and other necessary equipment for those displaced. Morocco's Foreign Ministry announced that the aid will follow a 'specially arranged route designed to ensure rapid, secure, and direct delivery to Palestinian beneficiaries.' This measure aims to bypass the brutal blockade that has deliberately cut off other international aid efforts and hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. This aid arrives as Gaza endures catastrophic humanitarian conditions amidst a relentless Israeli genocidal campaign. The death toll has surged beyond 60,000, with countless civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, slaughtered in the ongoing onslaught. Netanyahu's government continues to systematically destroy Gaza's infrastructure while deliberately blocking food, medicine, and essential supplies, creating conditions of mass starvation and preventable deaths. UN agencies report that over 80% of health facilities lie in ruins or function minimally, leaving doctors to perform surgeries without anesthesia and treat wounds with vinegar instead of disinfectant. Desperate families scavenge for food while children waste away from malnutrition. The deliberate targeting of hospitals, schools, and refugee camps has created a hellscape of suffering as the world watches. In March 2024, Morocco launched an unprecedented initiative, sending approximately 40 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza through Israel after air transit to Tel Aviv. As President of the Al-Quds Committee, King Mohammed VI maintains a unique role coordinating support for Palestinians based on urgent needs from the ground. The current aid shipment, which goes beyond symbolic gestures, was announced Wednesday and represents one of Morocco's largest humanitarian contributions to Gaza during this unrelenting crisis, which continues to claim innocent lives daily through bombs, bullets, and the weaponization of hunger. Read also: Gaza is Starving, and the World is Watching it Live
Morocco World
6 hours ago
- Morocco World
Gaza Genocide: Slovenia Becomes First EU Country to Impose Arms Embargo on Israel
Rabat – Slovenia has become the first European Union nation to impose an arms embargo on Israel in response to Tel Aviv's genocidal war on Gaza Prime Minister Robert Golob announced the news on Thursday. The decision has imposed an embargo on the export, import, and transit of all arms to Israel, to stop the genocide in Gaza. Ljubljana had declared several far-right Israeli government ministers persona non grata last week. Slovenia recognized the Palestinian state last year in June. Slovenia has been one of the main voices of opposition in Europe against the Israeli government. Now, they have become the first country to block arms sales. President Natasa Pirc Musar had previously told the European Parliament that the EU needed to take much stronger actions against Israel, calling their war a genocide. The Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon on Thursday said that Slovenia would keep all further measures on the table, 'We support the suspension of Israel's Accession Agreement, all trade sanctions, an arms embargo, sanctions against settlers, and ministers who support violence.' Fajon also rejected any idea of consolidation or resolution between the two countries until the violence had stopped, and a ceasefire was announced. Golob on Thursday said that Israel's actions constitute serious and intolerable violations of international law, saying that thousands of Palestinians, 'were dying because humanitarian aid has been systematically denied to them.' This confirms recent announcements from the United Nations, which has stated that it believes that nearly half a million people could face famine before the end of September. International pressure has grown consistently in recent weeks, with France, Canada, and the UK announcing that they would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel stops its war in Gaza. This brave decision by the Slovenian government could inspire other European nations to make similar announcements. Tags: Genocide GazaIsrael genocide
Morocco World
6 hours ago
- Morocco World
IOF Killed Over 1,000 Aid Seekers in Gaza Since May
Rabat – New disturbing data shows that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have killed over 1,000 Palestinians since May. The UN data said that 859 Palestinians were killed near aid sites, while the rest were killed while waiting along food convoy routes. 'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the UN added. The disturbing findings come amid the ongoing genocidal war, targeting unarmed civilians across Gaza. On Friday, the IOF killed at least 10 Palestinians in separate incidents across Gaza. Three were waiting for needed humanitarian aid, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. During one of the incidents, three people were killed and 30 were injured by Israeli forces. Five other Palestinians were killed and 20 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike.. Since dawn, the IOF has killed at least 24 people, including five people who were waiting for humanitarian aid amid the Israeli starvation campaign on civilians. Since October 2023, IOF's genocidal war has killed at least 60,239 people, while over 146,894 others were injured. 'Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks,' Wafa reported. Over 154 people died of starvation in Gaza despite urgent appeals, calling on the IOF to allow aid to enter Gaza, where people die not only due to the IOF's airstrikes and gunshots but also from hunger. Tags: Gaza starvationUN on Gaza starvation
