Amnesty International releases "Detekt" anti-spyware

Amnesty International has released an anti-spyware program that can detect spying software used by governments to monitor their political opponents and activists.

The “Detekt" software fills a gap left by standard anti-virus programs that often fail to spot spying software. Tanya O'Carroll, an adviser on technology and human rights at Amnesty International, said that the makers of these software programs often perform extensive testing to make sure that the way they infect and lurk on a computer does not trigger security alerts.

The organization said that many governments used sophisticated spying tools that could capture images from webcams and listen in via microphones. It said that it wants to see more regulation of the spying software used by governments.