Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
@jsrailton
May 24, 2023 • 11 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
Killer whales are hunting & sinking ships near Spain.

And may be teaching others how.

Some researchers speculate it may be a new whale fad.

The Orca equivalent of a TikTok challenge.

@sipappas
scientificamerican.com/article/why-ha… ImageImageImageImage
"two juvenile killer whales went after the rudder while an adult repeatedly rammed the boat... The attack lasted 90 minutes"

They know what they are doing.

Pics of aftermath. You can see an emergency pump running.

Source:
yacht.de/special/seenot… ImageImageImageImage
"Since you wouldn't protect us, we're taking taking matters into our own flippers"

- Killer Whales
I guess their patience with us ran out. Image
This is what researchers mean by whale fads... Image
Sure the world gets changed when pathogens jump species.

But I'm still waiting for an interspecies fad.
Since you were wondering: Killer Whales wearing dead salmon.

Via this great thread Image
More on the dead salmon hat fad
In other whale news, the Russian "spy whale" is again in the waters near #Oslo #Norway.

ImageImageImage
Looks like the emergency bilge pumps didn't do the trick.

She's definitely sinking.

Thanks @SomniNaut for flagging
Pic via @salvamentogob (Spanish Coast Guard).
Image
We must teach the orcas to recognize Russian warships.

And improve their weaponry.

• • •

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

John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Nov 11
Putin has 3 identical offices his residences to hide where he is when he goes on TV.

But a cascade of tiny details gives the whole thing away.

Light switches, door handles, wood patterns & wall seams.

Truly epic OSINT.

h/t @alburovImage
Image
Image
Image
2. First, Putin had one office in his Novo-Ogarevo residence.

Then, paranoia kicked in. After he invaded Crimea it intensified.

Time for new digs, and elaborate deceptions to make him feel safe & project the image to Russians that he's an engaged Moscow-based leader. Image
Image
Image
Image
3/ For something that cost so much, the number of substantial differences & subtle tells is overwhelming.

Undoing the entirety of the enterprise of deception.

You have to assume that Intelligence services have known these tells for a long time.
svoboda.org/a/systema-kabi…Image
Image
Image
Read 7 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Oct 23
NEW: Ex exec at premier private cyber weapons contractor to US accused of selling eight trade secrets to buyer in Russia.

I think this = exploits.

Very bad: at minimum would give adversaries a blueprint for detecting the tip of the spear of US/Allied cyber ops..

Wild story 1/Image
Image
2/ A watch collection studded with fake rolexes...

...is allegedly part of Peter "doogie" Williams haul from selling the hacking labs' secrets.

documentcloud.org/documents/2619…Image
3/ While doogie's watch collection is a joke, the questions couldn't be more serious:

Were cyberweapons paid for by American taxpayers also turned against us?

Were service members, officials, or civilians at physical risk? When was this breach first suspected? Who knew what? When?Image
Read 9 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Oct 22
WARNING: seeing a lot of phishing against @Signal users.

Did you get a message like this?

Don't engage! It's an attempt to steal your account.

Your account is safe & chats are private, but you should use Signal's option to Report Spam & Block. 1/Image
2/ You can make the attackers life harder by clicking Report.

Background: Like any popular secure messaging app, Signal users sometimes get targeted by spam & phishing attempts.

Often, attackers guess large numbers of usernames / phone numbers & send out message requests...Image
3/ Take a minute to remind yourself how message requests & blocking work on @Signal.

FAQ: support.signal.org/hc/en-us/artic…Image
Image
Read 4 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Oct 21
A "damaging" leak of tools from a five eyes exploit developer?

Concerning. We need to know what's under this rug.

Big picture: "trusted, vetted" private sector players offensive cyber are not immune to losing control of tooling... with national security consequences 1/
2/ If true, a tooling leak at boutique firm Trenchant wouldn't be the first time that exploits from commercial offensive vendors wind up... in the wrong place.

Many questions.

In the meantime. Remember when Russian APT29..was caught with exploits first used by NSO & Intellexa? Image
Image
3/ There will always be a push for states to turn towards the private sector to meet offensive needs.

It's appealing. For some, it's very lucrative.

But in practice it brings unavoidable counterintelligence & national security downside risk that shouldn't be downplayed.
Read 11 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Oct 17
NOW: US court permanently bans Pegasus spyware maker from hacking WhatsApp.

NSO Group can't help their customers hack @WhatsApp, etc ether. Must delete exploits...

Bad news for NSO. Huge competitive disadvantage for the notorious company.

Big additional win for WhatsApp 1 /Image
Image
Image
Image
2/ Although the massive punitive damages jury award against NSO Group ($167m) got reduced by the court, as is expected in cases where it is so large (to 9x compensatory damages)...

This is likely cold comfort to NSO since I think the injunction is going to have a huge impact on the value of NSO's spyware product.

Comes as NSO Group has been making noises about getting acquired by a US investor & some unnamed backers...Image
Image
3/ NSO also emerges from the @WhatsApp v NSO case with just an absolute TON of their business splashed all over the court records..

E.g. check out the filings from Sept 15th 2025: courtlistener.com/docket/1639534…
Read 5 tweets
John Scott-Railton Profile picture
Oct 10
WOW: @Apple donating a thousand new #iPhone17 s to civil society at-risk from mercenary spyware.

Good. This will help get Apple's most secure devices to where they need to be..

Truth is: those at the greatest risk from spyware are often least able to afford more secure phones 1/Image
2/ Memory Integrity Enforcement = big deal Radically hardens iPhones from common attack vectors.

So it was a bittersweet to see this announcement and think "yeah it's going to be a long time before highest risk ppl can get them."..
3/ You're reading this on a device that is probably more secure thanks to the vigilance of an activist somewhere...

Seems @Apple recognizes this & also knows how much of a game changer getting their most secure devices into the hands of civil society could be.

security.apple.com/blog/apple-sec…
Read 4 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!

Send Email!

:(