In a Tuesday-released report titled `Enemies of the Internet,' media watchdog RSF said that blatant online spying activities were apparently been undertaken by Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam.

Terming these countries as "state enemies" of the Internet because of their incessant and exhaustive attempts at spying on journalists, bloggers, political dissidents, and human rights advocates, the report by RSF
(Reporters Sans Frontiers) named five companies - Gamma, Trovicor, Hacking Team, Amesys and Blue Coat - which it branded as "digital era mercenaries" that assisted oppressive governments.

Noting that Syria and China were the worst countries when it came to online spying, the RSF report - which coincides with the World Day Against Cyber-Censorship - that, going by the estimates, five million Internet users in Syria are subject to unbridled state spying.

Revealing that 22 journalists and 18 Internet users had been jailed in Syria, the report said that the situation was no better in Iran where 20 Internet users were jailed and one had been killed in the past year. The report also cautioned the users against the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) in Iran.

Further noting that the last three years have seen a dramatic increase in surveillance and news blackouts in Bahrain, and that Vietnam's network is also under tight state control, the report said that "30 journalists and
69 netizens are in prison" in China; and added that, in terms of sheer numbers, the "Chinese Communist Party runs one of the world's biggest digital empires, if not the biggest."