CTech’s Weekly Israeli Tech News Roundup

Ethiopia used Israeli spyware to track journalists, dissidents. Ethiopian government used Israeli-made spyware to spy on journalists and advocates of one of the country’s ethnic minorities, according to a report published by University of Toronto researchers. The report details a year-long global cyber campaign against members of the Oromo people who have been in conflict with the Ethiopian central government. The researchers have compiled a list of other regimes, some regarded as totalitarian, that may also be clients of Israeli spyware maker Cyberbit. Read more

Iranian hackers used news website as a honeypot. An Iranian hacker group known as “Charming Kitten” set up a news outlet to court possible targets, says cybersecurity company ClearSky. The group is believed to be behind a phishing campaign targeting academic researchers, human rights activists, media outlets and political advisors focusing on Iran. Read more

The web needs a reboot, says researcher. In an interview with Calcalist, Harvard researcher Yochai Benkler explained why he thinks the fake news debate is a distraction, and why Facebook has to be me made to reveal its internal mechanisms. Read more

Another hurdle for Uber in Israel. New rules announced Monday will legalize ridesharing in Israel for the first time, but only on a limited basis. The typical ridesharing service offered by Uber or Lyft in much of United States, Europe, and Asia will still be banned.The new rules appear to closely match the ridesharing model offered by Google subsidiary Waze and Israel-based Moovit. Read more.