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VOICE ARCHIVE

Stephanie Kirchgaessner

@skirchy
21 posts
2023-05-25
For the first time, researchers say they have evidence that NSO Group's spyware has been used as a tool in a long running armed conflict. My latest: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2023-05-25 View on X
Access Now

Pegasus was used in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict to target a government worker, a UN official, and others in 2021 and 2022, the first known use in a war

The Armenia spyware victims include a former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia (the Ombudsperson) …

2023-04-12
So far, researchers at @citizenlab have identified more than five victims and it's a familiar group of people: journalists, political opposition figures, an employee at an NGO. Even as the US has sought to curtail NSO Group, Reign has the same powerful capabilities as Pegasus https://twitter.com/...
2023-04-12 View on X
TechCrunch

Citizen Lab and Microsoft detail mercenary spyware from Tel Aviv-based QuaDream used to hack iOS 14-based iPhones of journalists, politicians, and an NGO worker

why didn't Apple warn us? Wall Street Journal : New Spyware Firm Said to Have Helped Hack iPhones Around the Globe Phil Muncaster / Infosecurity : New Zero-Click iOS Exploit Deploy...

2022-08-11
Twitter has previously said it has been diligent about removing Saudi accounts that harass and spread disinformation. But it has not done anything about a close aide to MBS who is at the heart of a Twitter spying plot that led to human rights violations https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2022-08-11 View on X
The Guardian

Twitter lets Saudi official and MBS aide Bader al-Asaker keep his verified account with 2.1M followers, despite being implicated in a plot to recruit employees

Saudi official Bader al-Asaker accused by US of recruiting employees to secretly report on dissidents' anonymous accounts

The senior Saudi aide to MBS @Badermasaker is named (as foreign official 1) dozens of times in the US government's indictment for his role in paying off Twitter employees (one was just convicted). I wrote about how he still has over 2m followers https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2022-08-11 View on X
The Guardian

Twitter lets Saudi official and MBS aide Bader al-Asaker keep his verified account with 2.1M followers, despite being implicated in a plot to recruit employees

Saudi official Bader al-Asaker accused by US of recruiting employees to secretly report on dissidents' anonymous accounts

2022-07-07
Apple did not always take the threat of NSO's Pegasus and other spyware very seriously. It is now https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2022-07-07 View on X
MacRumors

Apple announces Lockdown Mode in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura to protect against “highly targeted cyberattacks” by disabling features, apps, and more

Apple today announced a new Lockdown Mode coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura.

2022-02-02
We also report along with our #pegasusproject partners that multiple sources have told us that NSO Group is under criminal investigation in the US https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2022-02-02 View on X
Washington Post

A whistleblower working with the DOJ says NSO Group offered staffers from US mobile security firm Mobileum “bags of cash” for access to global cellular networks

2022-01-29
An interesting takeaway from the NYT investigation of NSO is the perception in Israel that the Biden decision to blacklist the company is seen in Israel (by some?) as an attack on Israel itself. https://www.nytimes.com/...
2022-01-29 View on X
New York Times

An investigation into the rise of NSO's Pegasus shows its widespread use by the CIA, UAE, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and others; the FBI bought but didn't use it

Firstly, welcome to my new blog!  (Or is it a “newsletter”?) Tweets: Eva / @evacide : Here I am, having taken to my fainting couch, wearing my finest clutching pearls, because NSO ...

2021-12-18
One of Facebook's messages here is: great that everyone is hearing about NSO Group. They're not the only ones. https://twitter.com/...
2021-12-18 View on X
TechCrunch

Meta bans seven surveillance-for-hire groups, including Cytrox, removing over 1,500 Facebook and Instagram accounts and alerting 50K users who were targeted

Cytrox is one of seven surveillance companies now banned from Meta's platforms  —  While NSO Group was taking flak for hacking …

2021-12-17
One of Facebook's messages here is: great that everyone is hearing about NSO Group. They're not the only ones. https://twitter.com/...
2021-12-17 View on X
TechCrunch

Meta bans seven surveillance-for-hire groups, including Cytrox, removing over 1,500 Facebook and Instagram accounts and alerting 50K users who were targeted

Cytrox is one of seven surveillance companies now banned from Meta's platforms  —  While NSO Group was taking flak for hacking …

One of Facebook's messages here is: great that everyone is hearing about NSO Group. They're not the only ones. https://twitter.com/...
2021-12-17 View on X
The Citizen Lab

Two Egyptians living in exile had their iPhones compromised in June 2021 using Predator spyware built by North Macedonian developer Cytrox

Key Findings  — Two Egyptians—exiled politician Ayman Nour and the host of a popular news program (who wishes to remain anonymous) …

2021-12-05
Yeah, this will get you blacklisted: U.S. State Department phones hacked with Israeli company spyware - sources (congrats to @Bing_Chris and @josephmenn ) https://www.reuters.com/...
2021-12-05 View on X
Reuters

Sources: the iPhones of at least nine US State Department employees were hacked using NSO's spyware in the past several months

2021-12-04
Yeah, this will get you blacklisted: U.S. State Department phones hacked with Israeli company spyware - sources (congrats to @Bing_Chris and @josephmenn ) https://www.reuters.com/...
2021-12-04 View on X
Reuters

Sources: the iPhones of at least nine US State Department employees were hacked using NSO's spyware in the past several months

2021-11-04
Needless to say: this does not bode well for NSO's in its ongoing lawsuit with WhatsApp.
2021-11-04 View on X
The Record

US sanctions four companies, including NSO Group, that sell spyware or hacking tools, adding them to a list of entities engaging in “malicious cyber activities”

The US government has sanctioned today four companies that develop and sell spyware and other hacking tools, the US Department of Commerce announced today.

2021-10-23
It doesn't have to go down this way. Collaborations can be stressful and intense and usually the stories are difficult and complex. But in two collaborations I've worked on having one great big newsroom has been rewarding journalistically. There's so much to learn from each other https://twitter.com/...
2021-10-23 View on X
The Information

Sources: over 12 news outlets, including AP and Fox Business, formed a consortium to sift leaked Facebook docs from Frances Haugen, reporting stories separately

It's not often that major news organizations coordinate to sift through a large trove of leaked company documents and agree … Tweets: @jamesrbuk , @goldstein222 , @parismartineau ,...

It doesn't have to go down this way. Collaborations can be stressful and intense and usually the stories are difficult and complex. But in two collaborations I've worked on having one great big newsroom has been rewarding journalistically. There's so much to learn from each other https://twitter.com/...
2021-10-23 View on X
New York Times

Internal docs show the extent of Facebook's knowledge of extremist Groups on its site but don't offer a complete picture of its decision-making in response

Company documents show that the social network's employees repeatedly raised red flags about the spread of misinformation and conspiracies …

2020-12-19
For a long time, the proliferation of spyware by private companies, including NSO Group, seemed to be a problem mostly for journalists and human rights activists. Then WhatsApp got involved. Now, big guns: Microsoft joins the fray. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2020-12-19 View on X
Reuters

An analysis of publicly available web records shows SolarWinds hackers accessed the networks at Cox Communications and the local government in Pima County, AZ

LONDON (Reuters) - Suspected Russian hackers accessed the systems of a U.S. internet provider and a county government in Arizona …

For a long time, the proliferation of spyware by private companies, including NSO Group, seemed to be a problem mostly for journalists and human rights activists. Then WhatsApp got involved. Now, big guns: Microsoft joins the fray. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2020-12-19 View on X
Microsoft On the Issues

Microsoft identified 40+ customers targeted in the SolarWinds hack, 80% in the US, says the attack is “ongoing” and calls for a global cybersecurity response

including the highest reaches of the U.S. government — is certain of exactly what the hackers had infiltrated, let alone the full extent of what was taken. https://www.bloomberg.co...

2020-07-18
My latest on the big blow to NSO Group this week. A judge says case against them brought by WhatsApp can proceed, and is sceptical of arguments that the spyware company is not involved in targeting https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
2020-07-18 View on X
Bloomberg

US District Judge says WhatsApp's malware case against NSO Group can move forward, rejecting NSO's claim that it qualified for foreign official immunity

Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg :

A huge victory for WhatsApp. Their case against NSO Group, the Israeli spyware company, can proceed in a California court. Things will get very interesting. https://twitter.com/...
2020-07-18 View on X
Bloomberg

US District Judge says WhatsApp's malware case against NSO Group can move forward, rejecting NSO's claim that it qualified for foreign official immunity

Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg :

2020-07-17
A huge victory for WhatsApp. Their case against NSO Group, the Israeli spyware company, can proceed in a California court. Things will get very interesting. https://twitter.com/...
2020-07-17 View on X
Bloomberg

US District Judge says WhatsApp's malware case against NSO Group can move forward, rejecting NSO's claim that it qualified for foreign official immunity

Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg :