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John Scott-Railton Profile picture
@jsrailton
Jul 18, 2021 • 37 tweets • 44 min read • Read on X
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BREAKING: massive, global leak of the targets of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware. *huge deal.*

Forensic investigation by @AmnestyTech
in collaboration with @FbdnStories reporters.

We @citizenlab conducted peer review.

Here's an explainer THREAD.
washingtonpost.com/investigations… Image
2. Background: the already-notorious NSO Group makes mercenary spyware to silently & remotely hack iPhones & Androids.

Many of their government customers are authoritarians.

Most cannot resist the temptation to target their critics, reporters, human rights groups etc. Image
3. More about leaked numbers & targets in a sec, but first you need to know:

@AmnestyTech just released a report with technical analysis of NSO's infrastructure... & analysis validating w/forensics that some phones were infected with Pegasus.

amnesty.org/en/latest/rese…
4. We @citizenlab independently peer reviewed @AmnestyTech's forensic methodology, including how they identify an infected phone.

Our review, led by my colleague @billmarczak, judged their forensics & research methodology to be SOUND.

citizenlab.ca/2021/07/amnest… Image
5. Now, to the findings: >50k numbers were leaked that are reportedly part of the infection & targeting workflow with Pegasus.

To help validate the relationship between these numbers & infections @AmnestyTech got consent to forensically examine a subset of the devices. Image
6. The @FbdnStories consortium worked w/the leaked phone numbers... what they found reveals 10 of NSO Group's customers insatiable intent to snoop.

And the massive scale of the operation.

- Mexico customer > 15,000
- Morocco > 10,000
- UAE > 10,00

Etc. Image
7. #SaudiArabia 🇸🇦 murdered & dismembered Jamal Khashoggi.

Jamal's wife was targeted with Pegasus spyware before the killing...

Then his fiancee was hacked multiple times just days after.

@citizenlab independently confirmed findings.

#PegasusProject
washingtonpost.com/investigations… ImageImageImageImage
8. #HUNGARY 🇭🇺

Ask the government for comment... get hacked.

Hungary's far-right PM Viktor Orbán is using Pegasus spyware to surveil & attack Hungary's independent media, like @direkt36, @panyiszabolcs, and many more.

Story: @shaunwalker7 theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… ImageImageImageImage
9. #INDIA🇮🇳 Over 40 reporters, major opposition figures, serving ministers in the #Modi government, members of the security services and beyond are in the list.

Story to watch as the scandal unfolds there.

Story @svaradarajan @thewire_in
thewire.in/government/pro… Image
10. HUNDREDS of journalists around the globe are on the #PegasusProject list.

NSO Group's role in fueling the authoritarian assault on democratic values (like a free press) is coming into sharp focus

theguardian.com/world/2021/jul… ImageImageImageImage
11. NSO Group puts up a facade of caring about human rights, doing due diligence, etc.

This leak exposes the farce of that performance.

When your customers are dictators... they will do bad things. NSO knows this. We know it.

Now everybody knows it. Image
12. Continuing with cases.... in #FRANCE 🇫🇷

#PegasusProject list includes @edwyplenel, founder of independent news site @Mediapart, a reporter from @lemondefr, etc..

Story lemonde.fr/projet-pegasus… Image
13. in #Mexico 🇲🇽 Journalist Cecilio Pineda Birto was getting death threats for reporting on official collusion with a cartel capo...

...then his number showed up on the #PegasusProject list.

Then he was assassinated.
theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… ImageImageImageImage
14. Bookmark this thread. Things are only getting started.

I'll be updating it with more cases & context as #PegasusProject revelations keep dropping.
15. REASON TO CARE #1

So, you didn't know today's #PegasusProject hacking victims personally.

But tomorrow? Who knows. You don't.

#NSOGROUP is aggressively pitching *local* cops, including in USA 🇺🇸

Pause. Think about the oversight at your local PD.

vice.com/en/article/889… ImageImageImageImage
16. REASON TO CARE #2:

Since all phones are vulnerable, #Pegasus spyware lets its autocrat-users *export fear*

They want want *you* to be afraid to criticize them.

Yes, you. A continent away. In a democracy.

Think about the implications.
7. REASON TO CARE #3:

Think only human rights defenders & journalists get hacked with #Pegasus?

Wrong.

Good chance officials responsible for the national security of YOUR country have been / will be targeted.

Example pic: 2019 #NSOGroup WhatsApp hack.
reuters.com/article/us-fac… Image
18. Know who else is saying #NSOGroup must be stopped?

Big tech.

These days they are hitting back hard against the mercenary spyware industry for hacking their products & users.

E.g. this thread by @wcathcart @WhatsApp's CEO.👇
19. #INDIA🇮🇳 (2/)

She accused the Chief Justice of India’s Supreme Court of sexual harassment.

Just days later:

Her phone. Her husband's phone. Their family members..

11 in total then showed up on the #PegasusProject list.

thewire.in/rights/ranjan-… ImageImageImage
20. #FRANCE 🇫🇷 Claude Mangin is campaigning for the release of her husband, a political activist, from a #moroccan prison.

She's in France.

Last month her iPhone 11 was silently hacked w/#Pegasus spyware. A second iPhone she borrowed? Also infected.
washingtonpost.com/technology/202… ImageImageImage
21. BREAKING: Americans 🇺🇸 including US. Gov. officials are on the #PegasusProject list...

...even the #Biden administration's lead Iran negotiator Robert Malley!

#NSOGroup is an urgent national security problem for the United States.
washingtonpost.com//national-secu… Image
22. #MEXICO 🇲🇽: At least *50 people* close to the president ... are on the #PegasusProject spyware list.

They were put there while he was campaigning.

-His wife
-Family members, drivers, doctor
-Aides, chief of staff
-Doctor...

#PegasusProject
Story theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… ImageImage
23. Paul Rusesabagina inspired Hotel #Rwanda 🇷🇼

He's become a critic of the gov., and was recently thrown in jail.

His American 🇺🇸 daughter, while advocating for his release, has been incessantly surveilled w/ #Pegasus.

#PegasusProject
By @skirchy theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… ImageImageImage
24. Policies to stop the global spyware catastrophe?

Experts @davidakaye & @MarietjeSchaake say:

- Immediate moratorium on sale & transfer
-Rule-of-law requirements on users
-Victims must be able to sue
-Global principles of conduct

#PegasusProject
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/… ImageImageImageImage
25. #INDIA 🇮🇳 (3/) Rahul Gandhi was Prime Minister #Modi's main opponent in the 2019 nat'l elections.

During the campaign, 2 of his phones were put on the #PegasusProject list, and 5 of his friends & fellow Congress party officials.

theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… Image
26. #NSOGroup & #Pegasus spyware customers are issuing panicky, fairy-tale denials.

Here's my take.

#PegasusProject
27. BREAKING: 10 prime ministers, 3 presidents & a king on the #PegasusProject spyware list.

Included, French president @EmmanuelMacron
🇫🇷

Crystal clear: #NSOGroup is a global national security threat.

Story: washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/… Image
28. #NSOGroup, after courting a lot of press, is suddenly not interested in talking....

So begins the hope-this-dies-down phase of crisis management?
#PegasusProject
29. NEW "there's gotta be some accountability for spies-for-hire"

Senator @RonWyden to Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday in light of #PegasusProject revelations about #NSOGroup spyware.
Full:
30. NEW: 1st legal complaint from #Pegasus victims over latest spyware revelations has landed in France 🇫🇷

Brought by 2 journalists, supported by press freedom org @RSF_inter

Their statement says more complaints inbound.
#PegasusProject
rsf.org/en/news/after-… ImageImageImage
31. NEW: Dalai Lama's inner circle on the #PegasusProject list. (He's not thought to carry a phone)

Happened in period before & after a private meeting with @BarackObama.

#India🇮🇳 suspected as #NSOGroup #spyware client responsible.

Report: theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/… ImageImageImageImage
32. NEW: While #NSOGroup is trying to distract you with a counter narrative...

Here are #Indian 🇮🇳 Police barging into the offices of one of the #PegasusProject media outlets. 👇
35. TODAY: @WhatsApp CEO @wcathcart rubbishes #NSOGroup's denials:

- #PegasusProject reporting consistent w/targeting in #NSOGroup's 2019 attack on WhatsApp users.
- Points out: in *only* 2 weeks 1.4k numbers were confirmed targeted in 2019. Do the math.

theguardian.com/technology/202… ImageImage
36. BIG DEAL: today @WhatsApp CEO @wcathcart *publicly confirmed* that senior national security officials of US allies🇺🇸 were targeted with #Pegasus spyware in 2019.

Clear message: #NSOGroup spyware is a national security threat.

By @skirchy theguardian.com/technology/202… Image
37. Taking #NSOGroup's denials at face value?

CEO: "you won't reach 50,000 #Pegasus targets since the company was founded"

FACT: there were >1,400 *confirmed* targets in just 2 weeks in 2019 per @WhatsApp.

At this rate NSO would have easily reached 50k+
calcalistech.com/ctech/articles… Image
38. Not familiar with the 2019 #NSOGroup attack on @WhatsApp?

#Pegasus spyware was used to target people via WhatsApp in 2019. WhatsApp spotted it, quickly shut it down, notified all targets...and then *sued* NSO.

We @citizenlab helped investigate.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
39. "A.Q. Khans of the cyber world"

🇺🇸 US lawmakers just came out swinging against mercenary hacking company #NSOGroup.

Statement: US Gov must impose consequences in light of latest revelations of spyware misuse.

Reps @Malinowski @RepKatiePorter @JoaquinCastrotx @RepAnnaEshoo ImageImageImage

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More from @jsrailton

John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 27
YIKES: @perplexity_ai is flexing that they have OS-level access to 100M+ Samsung S26s.

Zero mention of:

Privacy
Security
Encryption

What will Perplexity do with this growing stash of personal data from deep inside Samsung phones? What jurisdictions will it live in? Who will it get shared with?

Here's the thing: Android's current security & privacy model involves sandboxing 3rd party apps from each other. TikTok can't read your private notes, for example.

Sandboxing is good & it narrows the attack surface against your private stuff.

But this #Perplexity integration breaks that baseline sandbox model, making a kernel-adjacent data bridge for Perplexity into your personal stuff.

Will users understand the structural shift in privacy?

Meanwhile, the risk of prompt injection & other attacks against an agentic AI that has OS-level access to personal stuff is also real.

Lots of speed, no signs of caution.Image
2/ Multiple agents & flows each with their own distinct security & privacy issues and levels of OS-level access to private stuff.

I doubt users have the cognitive spare room to parse privacy & security downsides each time they want to ask a question.
3/ Unprecedented access means @perplexity_ai is taking unprecedented security measures.

And has thought hard about user consent & protecting their privacy...right?

Right? Image
Read 4 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 24
BREAKING: US just sanctioned a network of exploit brokers trafficking in stolen US hacking tools

First-ever use of #PIPA (Protecting American Intellectual Property Act) by @USTreasury.

Here's the wild backstory of how @opzero_en got US-taxpayer funded exploits. 1/ Image
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2/ Peter Williams was an exec at Trenchant, subsidiary of @L3HarrisTech / $LHX.

Trenchant makes hacking tools for 🇺🇸US & allies.

Williams sold them to @opzero_en & bought nice things.

Result? Powerful 🇺🇸 capabilities got into hostile hands.
Image
@L3HarrisTech @opzero_en 3/ Operation Zero is a zero-day broker. They pay bounties for exploits in tech (much of it 🇺🇸US-made).

Then resell to non-NATO governments & intel agencies.

They aren't secretive. They even advertise here on X. Image
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Read 11 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 18
BREAKING: It started with WhatsApp messages.

They said they were students & tried to build rapport with Angolan journalist Teixeira Cândido.

Then the links began arriving.

Someone was trying to hack him with #Predator spyware.

New bombshell investigation by @AmnestyTech 1/Image
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2/ Heard of Pegasus? #Predator is a somewhat sloppier cousin.

They don't always have the hottest zero-click exploits, but they market to the same dictators.

And once you are infected, the harm is just as real: your digital life is turned inside-out.Image
3/ Predator spyware, which is distributed by #Intellexa, has a massive abuse problem.

And this latest excellent investigation by @AmnestyTech just drives home how much chaos the company has caused...
Read 11 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 17
NEW: When Kenyan cops arrested activist & presidential candidate @bonifacemwangi they took his devices.

When he got his personal phone back, the password was gone.

We @citizenlab found they'd abused @cellebrite to break into it.

Here's why this abuse matters 1/Image
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2/ Your phone holds the keys to your life, and governments shouldn’t be able to help themselves to the contents just because they don’t like what you are saying.

But everywhere you look, cops are getting phone cracking technology from companies like @cellebrite.

Many abuse it.Image
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3/ @Cellebrite's abuse potential is clear.

Now, Cellebrite says that they have a human rights committee & do due diligence...

Because even Cellebrite knows that if you sell phone cracking tech to security services with bad oversight, you have a problem.

So why are there so many sales to questionable security services?Image
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Read 6 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 16
NEW: Israeli surveillance companies are rushing to turn your car into a spy.

🎥Watching the cameras
🎤Listening to the built-in mics
📍Tracking your movements

And that's just the beginning of how these companies turn your car against you. 1/

Story by @haaretzcom's @omerbenj Image
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Image
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2/ And other companies are using AI to fuse all the signals coming from your car with other sources of information.

Honestly, the growth of #CARINT shouldn't shock anybody.

Our cars are badly secured & very connected... So it's natural for surveillance merchants to turn up.

STORY haaretz.com/israel-news/se…Image
3/ We got here partly because your car manufacturer really, really doesn't care about your privacy.

And face no serious consequences for doing a bad job with security.

Clearly early days with commercial #CARINT, but the trendline points in a scary direction. Image
Read 4 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Feb 11
Epic OPSEC fail by Paragon exposing Graphite spyware capabilities.

Annotated pic from what we know.

Please help me figure out the other apps in in this pic that the spyware can access:

#WhatsApp
#Telegram
#Signal
?
#Line?
?
#Snapchat?
#TikTok?Image
2/ Companies like Paragon (founded in Israel, former Israeli intelligence ppl, recently sold to a US owner) make hacking American technology companies their business model.

And then selling these capabilities to foreign governments.

How can this be?
3/ Honestly it is astonishing that a company that works tirelessly to hack & undermine the security of American products is now US-owned.

The missing factor: building contracts with the US government & lobbying.

The goal of these contracts, I believe, isn't just profit. It's getting protection & building government dependency on their technology.

We all wind up paying the price.Image
Read 7 tweets

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