An independent European research center has published a study revealing how the UAE spies on its domestic and foreign opponents using US agents.
A press release revealed the hidden dimensions of the UAE government’s contracts with former US security and intelligence experts to strengthen espionage and hacking for use inside and outside the country.
The Observatoire Européen (European Observatory) for Middle East Affairs wrote in a report: The study shows that the UAE has used a group of US intelligence contractors to assist cyber-hacking operations to target rival governments, opposition and human rights activists.
The center, an independent European body, provides a European perspective on Arab issues and tracks the influence of the Arab media on Europe, writes the contractors, former US intelligence officers, at the heart of the Raven Project spy program.
A former US National Security Agency agent has revealed how he works with the Emirati intelligence service, according to a study published on the technical website zdnet.
The study states: “What started as an amazing job offer for a young security analyst turned out to be an explosive affair involving former American experts. People who inadvertently helped the [UAE] Foreign Ministry set up an offensive security branch.”
In the Emirati Raven project, a team of more than a dozen former US intelligence agents was deployed to represent Abu Dhabi in operations that were at least highly suspicious.
The Raven project, previously revealed in an investigation published in the New York Times and Reuters, involves covert surveillance of other governments, activists, human rights activists, journalists and others important to the UAE or its critics.
One of the agents involved in the project is David Ewenden, a former offensive intelligence analyst and member of the Navy who worked for the US National Security Agency (NSA). At the Black Hat USA conference in Las Vegas, he explained the nature of his work in the UAE, a story that was widely covered in the Darknet memoir podcast.
After working for the National Security Agency for almost three years, in 2014, a CyberPoint employee who was allegedly approved by the US government contacted Evonden about a new job opportunity. He was promised that he would participate in a security operation in Abu Dhabi, which will help fight terrorist activities and reduce the workload of government agencies in his country, as part of a larger defense agreement with the United States.
He added: “Everything was done according to the rules and we were all confident in what we were doing. The overall contract was known as the Development Research and Operational Analysis Project (DREAD).”
According to the report, the DREAD project relied heavily on subcontractors, including CyberPoint, as well as dozens of formerly talented NSA hackers such as Ewonden.
The security expert explains that upon arrival, two joint briefings were given to him, during which it was briefly announced that he would work on defense measures. However, at the next hearing, he was given a black case.
This black case showed that Ewenden will cooperate with the UAE intelligence service in the field of offensive security, surveillance and data collection on the targets, and this part of his mission has not been made public.
While these initial meetings did not raise suspicions, the use of a modified villa commensurate with the operation – along with the promise of a tax-free living and high-paying wages – should be a red mark for Ewand.
In the early months, anti-terrorism surveys were conducted, which included analysis and data mining of the Twitter API, keyword analysis, and more on social media.
However, while at first he was told that working on behalf of the United States and its allies, the agent told Darknet Diaries that it was not long before CyberPoint targeted real or alleged UAE enemies instead of terrorist mercenaries. ISIL was one of the first target groups, but the program eventually pursued everyone from civil rights activists to journalists and critics of the UAE on Twitter.
“Then we started our search for money tracking technologies,” said the US security expert.
He explained that they were asked to gain access to Qatar, and when they were told they should hack into the country’s systems, they were given permission. Then, requests for information began on more specific items, such as those related to the Qatari royal family’s flight schedules.
The US security analyst goes on to say that it was at this time that emails from Michelle Obama, the wife of former US President Barack Obama, reached his computer in 2015, indicating that other rules of the game had changed. The emails were from the former First Lady team and her trip to the Middle East to promote the “Let the Girls Learn” project.
“It was at that point that I said, ‘We should not do this,'” Ewanden said. It is not true”.
In late 2015, a local entity, DarkMatter, took over the operation of the Raven project. The group was allowed to launch offensive operations against foreign organizations and activists were asked to join the new organization or return home.
Evanden told himself that people who are loyal to the United States; they will not do that, so we left and went home.
 He and his family avoided completing their mission and returned to their homeland. Shortly after settling in the United States, he began sending calls and texting to his former National Security Agency comrades, who were still serving, and had received job offers from Abu Dhabi. “Don’t go, this is not the job you think you can do,” he told them.
Another member of the team is Laurie Stroud, a cybersecurity expert who once worked for the US National Security Agency. DarkMatter reportedly asked him to target an American journalist and was quickly removed from the project when Stroud voiced his concerns.
The red mark that Ewenden missed could serve as a lesson to other security professionals who plan to immigrate abroad. In fact, he has some advice to give, in the hope that others will not make the same mistakes he did.
“Whenever your hair stands out, you have to step back and make sure you have a strategy to get out. Whether that organization offers that strategy or not, you need one anyway.”