Thread by @breadandnet

📍Tune in to Room 2 now!

MENA Coalition to Combat Digital Surveillance (MCCS)

Confronting oppressive governments as they deploy surveillance technology against their own people

with @marwasf @khalidibrahim12 @MohdMaskati

"It is a tragedy when you provide oppressive governments with tools to put innocent people in prison. We have many names of people who have been imprisoned due to surveillance." @khalidibrahim12

@khalidibrahim12 "Windows defender can catch the spyware #Candiru, but the question is whether #Candiru will change their attack tactics, just like #Pegasus did. We think that they definitely will." @MohdMaskati

@MohMaskati: Some of these technologies are coming from what we call 'democratic countries'.

Can litigation help seek justice for victims? @marwasf

In our region there is no local remedy against such violations. But there are ways to combat this. @khalidibrahim12

"Having database about companies that sell these technologies while mobilizing campaigns can help ensure that these harmful tools, mainly from the global North, are not sold to this region." @marwasf

Pegasus works on finding vulnerabilities in our devices without informing the company about them. They use these vulnerabilities to infect phones. @MohdMaskati

How can I protect myself from surveillance?

@MohdMaskati:

+ We cannot be completely safe from zero-click hacks, but we can reduce the risk by updating our phones' operating system and applications.

+ Don't download suspicious apps

+ Delete unnecessary apps

👇

+ Restart your devices at the end of each day. This cuts the communication between your devices and the malicious software's server.

"Without a complete mechanism to monitor sales of spyware, we won't really be going anywhere." @khalidibrahim12

For those interested, you can take part in the MENA Coalition to Combat Surveillance by submitting your application here: accessnow.org/join-mccs/

@accessnow