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How Barcelona became an unlikely hub for spyware startups
Barcelona's mix of affordable cost of living and quality of life has helped create a vibrant startup community — and become a hotbed for the creation of surveillance technologies.
Scott-Railton noted that in the past there have been cases of spyware abuse not only against human rights activists and dissidents in non-democratic countries like Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, but also against U.S. diplomats and targeted individuals, including politicians and citizens within Europe’s borders. On its official website, Head and Tail makes no explicit mention of the fact that it develops surveillance technology, but instead says it addresses “a myriad of cybersecurity issues, including threat intelligence, vulnerability assessments, security awareness training, and incident response.” The company has job listings for Barcelona, Madrid, and Sevilla. In the end, the Israeli researcher turned down the chance to work at Palm Beach Networks, even though people he knows told him the company pays some of its employees eye-watering salaries that vastly exceed the country’s gross annual average.
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