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"Gamma Group tässä, meiltä on loppunut viranomaiset joille myydä. Joten päätimme avata myynnin kaikille julkisesti!"

Gamma International, a British-German surveillance company notorious for providing governments with surveillance tech known as FinFisher, has reportedly been hacked and had a trove of its data leaked.

The dump first appeared on Reddit, where new user "PhineasFisher" provided a link to a torrent of 40GB of data, which he/she says is from a successful hack into the company. The hacker has also set up a jokingly titled 'GammaGroupPR' twitter feed, which is showcasing some of the hack's highlights. German outlet Netzpolitik then sorted out some of the files and mirrored them, providing handy links to different parts of the data.

“I hacked in and made off with 40GB of data from Gamma's networks,” PhineasFisher wrote on Reddit. “I have hard proof they knew they were selling (and still are) to people using their software to attack Bahraini activists, along with a whole lot of other stuff in that 40GB.”

Security researchers have suggested that Gamma International's technology is being used by oppressive regimes including Turkey, Egypt, Bahrain and Oman, and against journalists and activists, which has led to the company being named an 'Enemy of the Internet' by Reporters Without Borders. Privacy International claims that the company must know what their customers in these countries do with their products, because they not only sell the technology, but also provide training in how to use them. Gamma has previously denied that it has sold to countries like Bahrain.

The data dump seems to cover two main types of information: details on Gamma as a company, with updated brochures, product lists, and pricing, and more technical details about the products themselves. However, a large chunk of it is GPG encrypted, so it's unclear what else is hidden away in the data.

Looking at the information, there is no doubt that Gamma International's capabilities are stronger than ever.

“The documents released so far fit with the previous brochures and contracts we have seen from Gamma and FinFisher,” Kenneth Page, policy officer from Privacy International, told me. “A first look at the initially released documents suggests some improved capability and an evolution of their products from previously obtained brochures, including the ability to target people using all operating systems, smartphone types and even everyday products like Microsoft Word.”