Pegasus isn't new. Anyone in the field has known about NSO Group's spyware and its use against politicians, activists and journalists for half a decade. What's worth discussing, though, is how the topic has been ignored for so long. Both by the press and by iPhone maker Apple.
The people responsible claim nobody could have predicted what happened in Afghanistan this week. But their experts did in fact did predict it, which wasn't exactly hard, and then the people in charge lied about it. The public now desperately needs to understand how governments operate, or it will all happen again. And soon.
What are the new features Apple is implementing in iOS 15 that have privacy and security people all up in arms? And why none of this should come a surprise to anyone who's actually paid some attention and is thinking for themselves instead of just buying the company propaganda.
The German police can now hack into computers and phones, without the target having to have committed a crime. Even though a Berlin court has just ruled evidence from similar hacks originating outside of Germany to be inadmissible in criminal proceedings in the country.
The German government wants to put trojans on its citizens' phones and other devices to crack end-to-end encrypted communications. And it wants to do it with as little due process as possible. Welcome to another battle in the Crypto Wars!
Ever since the Cold War, intelligence services and their sympathisers in Western governments have worked tirelessy to prevent everyday citizens from utilising effective encryption to shield their lives from prying eyes. When the Clipper chip failed, these people switched to influencing legislation to get what they want. And now they are at it again.
An update on the Danish intelligence scandal, Google's plans to learn all about the things you get up to in hotel rooms and how to find out if your favourite podcast is tracking your listening habits.
A recent scandal involving the military intelligence service in Denmark once again clearly demonstrates how important whistleblowers are to the general public.
Let me tell you a story about how the CIA and BND for decades completely backdoored the crypto machines used by many of the world's governments for top secret messages. And not only that, they also made good money doing it!
