INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ecuador employed an international security company and undercover agents to monitor his visitors (File)
Ecuador spied on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its London embassy where he
has been living since 2012, initially to support him but things changed after he hacked the mission's computers, the Guardian reported
Wednesday.The newspaper said Ecuador employed an international security company and undercover agents to monitor his visitors, embassy staff
and even the British police at the embassy in London's luxury Knightsbridge area.It estimated the budget spent on the operation, referred to
initially as "Operation Guest" and later "Operation Hotel" at $5.0 million (4.2 million euros).The snooping was initially intended to
protect Assange from the risk of being taken away by British police but later became a full-blown spying operation.The operation had the
support of then Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa, the paper reported, adding that it has since been wound down under the country's new
leader Lenin Moreno who took power last year.The security team recorded Assange's daily activities and his interactions with embassy staff
and visitors, including fellow hackers, activists and lawyers.They stayed in a rented flat near the embassy at a cost of 2,800 pounds a
month, the paper said.Hacked the embassy networkThe paper also cited documents showing that Assange hacked the communications system within
the embassy and had his own satellite internet access."By penetrating the embassy's firewall, Assange was able to access and intercept the
official and personal communications of staff," the paper said.WikiLeaks denied Assange had hacked the network.Ecuador has moved to shut off
internet access for Assange in recent months by installing a jammer to prevent him from accessing email and has restricted the number of
visitors he can receive.Assange took refuge in the diplomatic mission in 2012 after a British judge ruled he should be extradited to Sweden
to face allegations of sexual assault there.Assange claims the accusations were politically motivated and could lead to him being extradited
to the United States to face imprisonment over WikiLeaks' publication of secret US military documents and diplomatic cables in 2010.Sweden
dropped its investigation last year, but British authorities say they still want to arrest him for breaching his bail conditions.Ecuador in
December made Assange an Ecuadoran citizen and unsuccessfully tried to register him as a diplomat with immunity as part of its efforts to
have him leave the embassy without risk of being detained.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent
staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)For the latest Election Results Live Updates from Karnataka log on to
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