US government agencies legally hack cell phones or emails at any time: think of the FBI wiretapping a suspected drug lord or the NSA monitoring emails for terrorist plots.
But today, there's growing interest in hacking other types of devices that people use often, like WiFi-connected security cameras and other IoT products.
Toka, an Israeli startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz, specializes in this type of work. He had already attracted attention for a Haaretz 2022 article detailing his claims about being able to obtain and even delete security camera footage.
The company is now seeking to to hire a “USA Client Director” to “support the growth of new activities in the American government market”. The position requires “strong technology sales experience within DoD and national security agencies.”
Toka is also while searching a customer success engineer within its North America team who is responsible for helping its customers with “deployment, training and enablement.” Experience working with federal law enforcement is considered an advantage.
Toka told TechCrunch that it was “primarily filing for open slots” and declined to comment further on its activities with the U.S. government.
“What we can say is that Toka only sells to military, homeland security, intelligence and law enforcement organizations in the United States and its closest allies who use our products in accordance with local laws,” a company spokesperson said.
Hacking of IoT products is increasingly common in the murky worlds of defense and intelligence.
Israel, where Toka is headquartered, has gained some fame for this type of intelligence gathering. Hezbollah warned Lebanese residents demanded earlier this year to turn off their security cameras to prevent Israel from hacking them to spot targets.
But this type of technology doesn't have to be limited to war zones. TechCrunch reported last month that a16z's Ben Horowitz tried to donate funds to the Las Vegas Police Department to purchase Toka software. They did not accept it, a Toka spokesperson said.
Toka has publicly raised $37.5 million since its inception in 2018 from investors like a16z, Dell Capitaland others. Haaretz previously reported in 2022, Toka sought to work with US special forces and an unnamed US intelligence agency.
Toka has sought to avoid any surveillance of Israeli spyware companies, such as Sanctioned by the United States NSO Group, publicly promising that it only does business with governments from a “short list of countries” with good records on civil liberties and corruption.
To go out is registered as a participant a conference in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and earlier this year hiring a vice president of international sales who previously worked for another controversial Israeli cyber company, Cellebrite. But Toka told TechCrunch that it has no customers in the UAE and is closely monitoring its international sales.
“We regularly review this selected list of countries, based on external assessments on a range of issues, including civil liberties, the rule of law and corruption,” the Toka spokesperson said. “We are assisted in this process by two distinguished outside advisors: Professor Peter Schuck of Yale Law School and Israel Prize winner Jacob Frenkel, currently Chairman of JP Morgan Chase International and former IMF official. »
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