John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Jun 11, 2022 7 tweets 7 min read Read on X
The "no guns on #January6th" line keeps cropping up.

It's flat wrong.
There were plenty of guns on #January6th

"I'm the one in the video with the gun right here"

-John Emanuel Banuelos speaking to the police.

Story: @ryanjreilly
nbcnews.com/politics/polit… Image
And who can forget Lonnie Coffman, who brought a small arsenal to DC?

ImageImageImageImage
And then there's Christopher Alberts, indicted for violence against an officer... and carrying a gun with him on #January6th.

His Taurus semiautomatic had a round in the chamber and 12 in the clip.

justice.gov/usao-dc/defend… ImageImageImageImage
Guy Reffitt helped lead a push at the Capitol.

He was found guilty of a bevy of crimes... including bringing a loaded gun.

And threatening his own son to keep him quiet.

A holster under his jacket is visible in footage by @FordFischer.

justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/tex… ImageImageImageImage
And let's not forget the #OathKeepers who brought & stashed a load of serious weaponry in a nearby hotel for their "Quick Reaction Force"

Source: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… ImageImage
[VIOLENT FOOTAGE] I could go on posting about guns at the #January6th insurrection...

But don't be distracted by the "no guns" lie from the absolute wave of violence that was visited upon the #Capitol & DC police using every available weapon.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with John Scott-Railton

John Scott-Railton Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jsrailton

Dec 21
BREAKING: NSO Group liable for #Pegasus hacking of @WhatsApp users.

Big win for spyware victims.

Big loss for NSO.

Bad time to be a spyware company.

Landmark case. Huge implications. 1/ 🧵Image
Image
Image
Image
2/ In 2019, 1,400 @WhatsApp users were targeted with #Pegasus.

WhatsApp did the right thing & sued NSO Group.

NSO has spent 5 years trying to claim that they are above the law.

And engaged in all sorts of maneuvering.

With this order, the music stopped and NSO is now without a chair.Image
Image
3/ Today, the court decided that enough was enough with NSO's gambits & efforts to hide source code.

Judge Hamilton granted @WhatsApp's motion for summary judgement against the #Pegasus spyware maker.

The judge finds NSO's hacking violated the federal Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (#CFAA), California state anti-fraud law #CDFA, and was a breach of contract.

What happens next? The trial proceeds only on the issue of resolving damages stemming from NSO's hacking.

Order: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…Image
Read 12 tweets
Dec 18
NEW: US considering ban on @TPLINK routers.

Company has a majority of the US market share for homes & small biz.

Concerns stem from repeated use in cyberattacks from #China & concerns over supply chain security.

Reportedly an office of @CommerceGov has subpoenaed the company. 1/

Story by @heathersomervil @dnvolz & @aviswanathaImage
Image
Image
Image
2/ @TPLINK has quickly grown market share, even as concerns have grown over vulnerabilities in the routers being used in #China-linked hacking operations.

wsj.com/politics/natio…Image
3/ As Microsoft's @MsftSecIntel reported earlier this year, for example, #TPLINK routers make up the bulk of the CovertNetwork-1658 attack infrastructure.

This operator was conducting so-called password spray attacks, and taking steps to be discrete.

The credentials are then used by multiple #China-based threat actors....

microsoft.com/en-us/security…Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 4 tweets
Dec 18
Use only end-to-end encrypted communications says @CISAgov.

YES!

End-to-end encryption is critical infrastructure for a safe society.

Plenty of other solid guidance for mobile users at risk here.

Let's look at their #iPhone & #Android-specific recs... 1/Image
Image
Image
2/ @CISAgov's top recommendation for Apple users is to✅ enable #LockdownMode

It's my top guidance for high-risk #iPhone users..

Because as researchers tracking sophisticated threats we see Lockdown Mode blunt advanced attacks...

Other solid guidance:

✅Protect your DNS
✅Disable fallback to SMS
✅Enroll in iCloud Private Relay
✅Trim App permissions.Image
Image
3/ @CISAgov's guidance for #Android starts from the unavoidable fact that many Android manufacturers truly don't respect users security or privacy.

So ✅pick a company that won't leave you insecure after 2-3 years.

Other good guidance here includes...
✅ Only use RCS with end-to-end encryption
✅ Using Android Private DNS
✅ Use Enhanced Protection for Safe Browsing
✅ Google Play Protect
✅ Manage permissions.

cisa.gov/sites/default/…Image
Image
Read 4 tweets
Dec 17
NEW: #China #Russia #Iran & #Israel are spying on 🇺🇸Americans using telecom weaknesses says @DHSgov

Deeply concerning on heels of #SaltTyphoon breaches.

All US carriers vulnerable to some extent.

We know this thanks to Sen @RonWyden's tireless work to expose #SS7 & #Diameter vulnerabilities.

Here's how they work...

Story by @josephfcox 1/Image
Image
2/ Here's the thing about the global network for routing calls.

Requests are trusted by default. Whatever operator they come from!

Since requests can let you do things like intercept calls, texts & track phones locations...

...a lot of governments & some shady companies have come running.

All they needed was a "Global Title" which is not hard to get in some jurisdictions.

Result? A tidal wave from around the globe of shady requests for the purpose of spying on people.

Including Americans. In the US.

We @citizenlab exposed Circles, one such player...

Story: 404media.co/dhs-says-china…Image
3/ There's an active global market for companies whose product line revolves around abusing the trusting nature of call routing to conduct surveillance.

We @citizenlab ran scans & mapped deployments of this tech by one such player: Circles.

Circles had previously merged with NSO Group, which makes #Pegasus.

citizenlab.ca/2020/12/runnin…Image
Read 5 tweets
Dec 16
NEW: police in #Serbia caught unlocking activists phones with @Cellebrite's mobile forensic tools & planting spyware on them.

Incredibly troubling investigation by @AmnestyTech delves into how the Serbian authorities mix a toxic brew of repression out of homegrown + foreign mercenary spyware like #Pegasus + $CLBT's forensic tools possibly supplied as part of foreign assistance from #Norway. 1/

Read: amnesty.org/en/documents/e…Image
Image
Image
Image
2/ From Traffic Stop to Spyware Victim...

As costs increase for zero-click spyware, expect to see authorities getting creative...

Rolling their own tech & finding novel ways to plant it on activists' devices with physical access.
3/ A favorite detail: a @Cellebrite exploit got caught & vuln patched.

This is what happens when your tech is abusively used against activists...

Mad impressive technical lift by @google's Project Zero's @__sethJenkins ft @benoitsevens, @tehjh et al.👇
Image
Read 7 tweets
Dec 5
🚨NEW INVESTIGATION: Russia's 🇷🇺 FSB beat & detained this programmer.

They demanded he inform on contacts in #Ukraine.

When he was finally released, Kirill Parubets got his phone back.

It was bugged with spyware. 1/

Investigative collab by us @citizenlab w/@DeptFirst.Image
Image
2/ Russian authorities descended on Kirill Parubets & his spouse. Raiding their apartment.

Beating him for his passwords.

Accusation? Money transfers to #Ukraine.

Then they threw the couple into custody.

The #FSB threatened life imprisonment if he didn't agree to become an informant.

citizenlab.ca/2024/12/device…Image
Image
3/ When the couple was eventually released , Parubets was eventually able to pick up his devices from the #FSB at the dreaded Lubyanka building (former KGB HQ, also a prison).

As a programmer, he carefully scrutinized his returned devices & noticed a weird notification on his Android...Image
Image
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(