DarkMatter Group
As alleged in the Complaint, DarkMatter Group is an Emirati company which operated a cybersurveillance program known as Project Raven (also called Project DREAD). Through Project Raven, DarkMatter Group allegedly hacked Loujain Alhathloul’s phone, surveilled her movements, and exfiltrated her confidential communications to the UAE’s security services, which led to her forcible rendition to Saudi Arabia where she was detained and tortured.
Ryan Adams, Marc Baier, and Daniel Gericke
As alleged in the Complaint, Ryan Adams, Marc Baier, and Daniel Gericke are former members of the US military and intelligence community. They are also allegedly former DarkMatter Group employees who oversaw Project Raven, which exploited a vulnerability in Apple’s iMessage app to hack the iPhones of hundreds of activists. In September 2021, Adams, Baier, and Gericke entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice where they admitted to violating prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which prohibits the unauthorized access of a protected computer.
