Trust is to a government what blood is to the body. It fosters citizen engagement enabling social cohesion and remains vital for a functional democracy. With a growingly connected world, Telecommunications networks being the backbone of digital communication, the sacrosanct duty of government to uphold its integrity without undermining the very foundations of privacy and democratic accountability, is non-negotiable.
Unauthorised acquisition of surveillance equipment, manipulation of legal mass surveillance system for personal benefits as experienced in Mauritius over the last years, is unprecedented. The network which once used to be like the wife of Ceasar, above suspicion is now exposed. Appointment of Incompetent cronies has led systemic erosion of trust, leaving Pompeia totally naked for the world to see.
THE BACKDROP
Amidst the “Sniffing” turmoil and prior to “Moustass Leaks” , Capital Media published a comprehensive article on how the Jugnauth government spent billions since 2016 to snoop on citizens of the country. The technology acquired from Israeli firm Verint was extensively used to encroach on the very essence of personal privacy, infringe fundamental rights and targeting of dissent. Documents exchanged during legal proceedings have confirmed affirmations of a compromised network. What initially kickstarted as a means for cronies to mint billions quickly churned into an urge to wield absolute power through monitoring of information. What could be more powerful than mirroring the data of those in power ? That’s when the system intended for mass surveillance went rogue and served the interest of a few.
Mid 2020 – It was a casual courtesy call by a visiting senior member of a Chinese Technology Supplier at the PMO which blew the first whistle on the potential threat of surveillance equipment being used against its masters . On his way to the meeting the Chinese official received a threatening call from senior member of Mauritius Telecom warning him not to disclose any of their private dealings . The suspicion aroused from the fact that no one else was supposed to be aware of the meeting except the visitor and the …………. Prime Minister.
Following various other alerts flagging potential threats to the network, the Prime Minister’s Office sought assistance from the Government of India which through then Security Advisor, posted at the PMO, recommended one of its reliable, homegrown service provider – Vehere Technologies Private Limited . Based on its expertise in Network Detection and Response (NDR) and Network Forensics (NF), services of Vehere Technologies were retained for the detection of abnormal activities in both encrypted and non-encrypted traffic. The Delhi based company’s mandate was to investigate suspicious network traffic, data theft and propose comprehensive solutions.
The exercise was conducted in April 2022 and prior to submission of Vehere Technologies’s final report , the story took an abrupt twist with then CEO of Mauritius Telecom , Manvendra Singh resigning from his position alleging the government had embarked on mass surveillance using sniffing equipment at the landing station of Baie Jacotet which hosts the SAT3/WASC/ SAFE marine cable. Leaked video footage from surveillance cameras showing the technicians from Vehere Technologies were used to fuel the mass hysteria happily spun by mainstream media. A perfect illustration of “ Turning the tables“. However, 3 years down the line none of the other partners of the SAFE Consortium have complained about any alleged intrusion. The Police inquiry though very straight forward seems to have embarked on the Ferris wheel of the circus spinning endlessly till today .
In November 2022, in replacement of Verint, Government of Mauritius ordered surveillance equipment from PertSol India Private Limited specialised in lawful interception and monitoring systems. One of the flagship products of the company is their PertSol iLocator , a location intelligence platform which captures, analyzes, and visualizes geospatial data. Interestingly PertSol solutions also integrate products from the much controversial Juniper Networks. While the formal order was placed in November 2022, commissioning of equipment began March 2023. An important point which should be retained because its precisely during the commissioning of PertSol that technicians came across unaccounted surveillance equipment at the Mauritius Telecom Exchange, Rose Hill. Strangely the “Moustass Leaks “ released in October 2024 stops abruptly with conversations having taken place in March 2023.
THE MODUS
Based on multipronged investigations, Capital Media has reconstituted the puzzle. The above illustration offers a comprehensive view of how the intrusion was carried out.
The initial reactions to the first wave of “ Moustass Leaks “ was to question the authenticity of the recordings as the encryption offered by platforms such as WhatsApp was until then religiously believed. Today’s recording technologies are no longer confined to traditional phone lines. They now capture voice and text communications across a wide array of platforms including WhatsApp, WeChat, Microsoft Teams, and virtually every other messaging or conferencing tool. This cross-platform integration ensures that no conversation escapes the net. The systems have evolved into powerful surveillance tools capable of capturing, analyzing, and transcribing conversations with unprecedented precision.
At the core of these systems lies advanced voice analytics powered by artificial intelligence. These tools support surveillance platforms with real-time pattern recognition, sentiment analysis, and anomaly detection enabling operators to sift through vast volumes of audio data with surgical precision. The result: enhanced situational awareness and faster response capabilities.
Manual audio review is both time-consuming and costly. By automating transcription and speaker segmentation, these systems dramatically reduce the burden on human analysts. Conversations are broken down by speaker, timestamped, and indexed making retrieval and analysis far more efficient.
Whether the audio originates from a mobile app, a desktop platform, or a cloud-based service, automatic speech recognition (ASR) ensures accurate transcription. The system adapts to different acoustic environments and speaking styles, maintaining high fidelity across diverse sources.
THE FUNDING
As if the intrusion into privacy of every citizen wasn’t outrageous enough, it is now established that public funds were utilised to finance the unauthorised and unaccounted surveillance equipment. A vast majority of the technology was acquired under the camouflage of equipment for Cellplus Mobile Communications Ltd, subsidiary of Mauritius Telecom Group. Which leads us to question the role played by then Head of Procurement and the almighty Chief Executive Officer .
Mauritius Telecom – Network Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
As Mauritius positions itself as a digital hub and financial gateway, critical questions loom over the integrity of its telecommunications backbone. Beneath the surface of high-speed connectivity and modern infrastructure lies a network architecture riddled with potential vulnerabilities many of which remain unaddressed and unaudited. Various seasoned professionals queried by Capital Media are unanimous on the critical vulnerabilities currently prevalent within the Network infrastructure. Given the involvement of the primary telecommunications provider, data security challenges should be a national concern and utmost priority for the government .
At the heart of the nation’s telecom system lies the Huawei Core Network, responsible for authentication protocols, data routing, and subscriber databases. Despite its central role in managing sensitive user data, this core operates with minimal transparency and lacks independent security audits. The absence of robust oversight creates latent access points potential gateways for data compromise, surveillance, or manipulation.
The stakes rise dramatically when one considers the nature of the data flowing through these networks. Communications between government ministries, regulatory bodies, and financial institutions navigate through segments of the network that may lack adequate encryption or real-time monitoring. This exposes critical national operations to interception risks, undermining both sovereignty and trust in digital governance.
The Huawei Radio infrastructure powering 4G and 5G base stations across Mauritius introduces another layer of concern. Firmware embedded in these systems may harbour exploitable vulnerabilities, offering malicious actors a pathway to intercept mobile communications, track user activity, or disrupt services. Without rigorous firmware validation and patching protocols, the radio layer remains a soft target.
Mauritius’s connection to the global internet relies heavily on submarine cable systems its international gateways. These undersea links, while essential for global commerce and financial transactions, also represent strategic points for “Real” data exfiltration. In the absence of robust encryption and traffic anomaly detection, the nation’s digital exports including sensitive financial flows could be silently siphoned off.
These vulnerabilities are not just technical oversights they are systemic blind spots that demand urgent attention. As Mauritius continues to digitize its governance and economy, the integrity of its telecom infrastructure must be treated as a matter of national security. Independent audits, encryption mandates, and firmware transparency are not optional they are foundational safeguards in a digital age.
THE BREWING STORM
While re-establishing our Network integrity rebuilding trust should have been the utmost priority, the current government is engaged into its usual petty theatrics with many of the advisors ( both official & unofficial) trying hard to playdown the whole issue with deliberate attempts to divert public attention. Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the brilliant minds to have graced our world believed “The majority of men prefer delusion to truth. It soothes. It is easy to grasp. Above all, it fits more snugly than the truth into a universe of false appearances—of complex and irrational phenomena, defectively grasped.” Obviously, no one would expect Dr Navin Ramgoolam to master such complex technicalities but his averments at the national assembly in response to questions relating to, phone tapping and Safe City Project clearly indicate that the Prime Minister has chosen delusion over truth. Elementary common sense would have been sufficient to conclude, neither the so called “Sniffing” in April 2022 nor the commissioning of PertSol in March 2023 could have tapped his conversations back in 2019. Despite being naturally suspicious, Navin Ramgoolam is blatantly being driven in the dark by his close aides devotedly running errands for the ones we ought to be chasing. No serious action is being taken neither to take to task those responsible for such despicable crime nor to ensure the safety of an increasingly important Netwotk Integrity. A slackness which will soon come to haunt the country over again.
