Pegasus Affair

 The NSO is just one company. And if one company smells this bad.. what this project has revealed that this is a sector, where the only product is "infection vector".  They are not security products, They are not providing any protection. They dont make vaccines . The only thing they can sell is the virus. Saying that they sell this to governments only, doesnt make it better. 

What can people do? The solution here, for ordinary people, is to work collectively. This is not a problem that we want to try ans solve individually, because it is you versus a billion dollar company. what can you do to protect yourself . You can do a little but you cannot solve the problem.  It is the same when we are talking about the NSO, You can make yourself safer.. But we will not be safe until we change the game.  Your Smartphone Is Worse Than A Spy in Your Pocket: Edward Snowden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quj2NG34834   Jul 22, 2021  Edward Snowden is interviewed by Paul Lewis, head of investigations at The Guardian.  

Shared by The Wire as part of its ongoing collaboration with the Pegasus Project.  The Pegasus Project is a collaborative investigation that involves more than 80 journalists from 17 news organisations in 10 countries coordinated by Forbidden Stories with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab. Read all our coverage here: https://thewire.in/tag/pegasus-project 

What is Pegasus, the chosen tool for ‘total surveillance’? https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/what-is-pegasus-the-chosen-tool-for-total-surveillance-11572578636720.html  The malware can infect devices via phishing text messages that trick users into clicking a particular link..  the spyware completes the process in the background..., completely out of the user’s notice. This, combined with the fact that Pegasus doesn’t require the user’s attention is one of the reasons why the spyware is so dangerous and popular amongst security contractors.

Once on your phone, Pegasus has access to data that’s already on your phone...It can also listen to you and sounds around you through the phone’s microphones, record incoming and outgoing calls, capture screenshots and use the phone’s camera to take photos. 

Security experts have repeatedly advised against downloading suspicious files, clicking on unknown links etc. and those remain the best way to fight this malware.

HIDE AND SEEK: Tracking NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries https://citizenlab.ca/2018/09/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/ By Bill Marczak, John Scott-Railton, Sarah McKune, Bahr Abdul Razzak, and Ron Deibert September 18, 2018 

Full Report: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/95391/1/Report%23113--hide%20and%20seek.pdf 

WhatsApp has revealed that the messaging app was used to spy on at least two dozen journalists and human rights activists, likely by the Indian government. By Prateek Goyal 31 Oct, 2019 

Newslaundry identified a few of the persons who said they were targeted by the spyware.

Nihalsingh Rathod is a human rights lawyer in Nagpur, Maharashtra, who represents several of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Bela Bhatia is a human rights activist, based in Chhattisgarh’s troubled Bastar region.

Degree Prasad Chouhan is a lawyer and activist who campaigns for the cultural and social rights of Dalits and Adivasis.

Anand Teltumbde - The professor, writer and civil rights activist

Sidhant Sibal  is the principal diplomatic and defence correspondent for Wion TV channel.

Shalini Gera  a human rights lawyer with the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group

Rupali Jadhav is with the cultural group Kabir Kala Manch

Shubhranshu Choudhary launched India’s first community radio on mobile phone, CGnet Swara. (Works for in Chhattisgarh.

Saroj Giri is assistant professor, Political Science, at Delhi University.

Vivek Sundara - a social and environmental activist based in Mumbai

Ashish Gupta - an activist with the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights

Ankit Grewal - The Chandigarh-based lawyer who has represented Sudha Bhardwaj

Godi Media and Pegasus / गोदी मीडिया और अन्तराष्ट्रीय साज़िश 19 July - 22 July 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl5IpGgp6E8   A Compilation of Debates by Godi Media between 19 - 22 July 2021 covering the Pegasus Software Surveillance Scandal. 

Unsafe and unchecked: government use of spyware raging around the world https://www.accessnow.org/government-spyware-raging/ 19 July 2021

“Spyware is proving time and time again to be incompatible with human rights,” said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Global Cybersecurity Lead at Access Now. “No matter where it’s deployed, there are always opportunities for exploitation, and its rampant misuse is making global digital communications insecure.”

Natalia Krapiva, Tech Legal Counsel at Access Now. “The industry has shown that it is incapable of policing itself, while governments — including democratic states — are hiding behind national security to whitewash these surveillance abuses. We need regulation, transparency, and accountability now.”

Read more …