Today, CEP released the second installment in a series of new reports on the
Iran-backed Shiite group, the Houthis, who took control of Yemen’s capital city
of Sanaa in 2014 and plunged the Arabian Gulf nation into a devastating civil
war.





<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



New CEP Report Addresses Houthi Oppression Of Yemeni Telecom, Internet Services


(New York, N.Y.) — Today, CEP released the second installment in a series of
new reports on the Iran-backed Shiite group, theHouthis
<[link removed]>, who took control of Yemen’s
capital city of Sanaa in 2014 and plunged the Arabian Gulf nation into a
devastating civil war. This report examines Houthi efforts to gain control of
Yemen’s telecommunications companies, and how these companies have since become
key sources of intelligence and funding for the terror organization ruling much
of Yemen.



To read the full report, The Houthis’ Use of Technology for Repression, please
clickhere
<[link removed]>.



The latest report identifies how the Houthis have exploited Yemen’s mobile
network operators (MNOs) and Internet infrastructure to gain information
dominance. In addition, as one of the few growing industries in an otherwise
dismal economic time in Yemen, the telecommunications industry provides a
continuous source of revenue for the Houthis through taxes, “fines,” and
“voluntary” funding of Houthi events.



Among the three major MNOs in Yemen, including Yemen Mobile and Sabafon, MTN
Yemen (now operating as YOU Telecom) stands out after it was sold in 2021 for a
single UAE dirham, the equivalent of 25 cents USD. The company, which
represented about 30 percent market share, came into possession of Emerald
International Investment, supposedly an affiliate of the company’s Omani
minority shareholder. The report’s findings indicated that following the
acquisition, YOU Telecom was able to operate uninhibited in Houthi-controlled
areas and banned from territories controlled by the government of Yemen.



The report details how, for nearly a decade, the Houthis have monitored
communications traveling over the networks of Sanaa-based MNOs. These wiretaps
and 24/7 surveillance operations provide a broad infrastructure for
intelligence and counterintelligence. Recently, the regime has expanded its
arsenal to include spyware capable of collecting information directly from
mobile devices.



Since 2004, Yemen’s Internet service providers (ISPs) and gateways to the
global Internet have been under full government ownership and control. The
seizure of Sanaa, however, allowed the Houthis to place their own officials in
charge of the Internet infrastructure in Yemen. This enabled the Houthis to
prevent the Yemeni public from viewing information contrary to the regime’s
narrative (via Internet filtering technology), while in parallel they saturated
the information space with their own propaganda and disinformation. According
to a 2023 U.N. Security Councilreport
<[link removed]>
, the Houthis have recently expanded their capabilities beyond censorship to
include intrusive monitoring of Internet-based communications via deep packet
inspection.



Read the full report The Houthis’ Use of Technology for Repression by clicking
here
<[link removed]>.



To read the previous report in this series, How The Houthis Funded Terror
Groups After Seizing Yemen’s Capital,please click here
<[link removed]>
.



###











Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>
|Donate <[link removed]> | Contact Us
<[link removed]>


Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe for yourself here
<[link removed]>
.