AI-Powered Public Surveillance and Biometric Data Collection Expand Government Monitoring

Recorded Future/Insikt Group analysis warns that governments worldwide are expanding AI-powered surveillance, biometric databases, and commercial spyware use—identifying high or very high risk in dozens of countries. The report details five surveillance capability categories (network interception, endpoint compromise, platform access, public-space surveillance, data aggregation), documents active use of Predator, Candiru, GhostX, and ResidentBat against journalists and activists, and highlights risks to travelers and businesses while recommending device and operational security mitigations.