John Scott-Railton Profile picture
May 30, 2023 6 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Remember Tara Reade?

The one-time Biden accuser who became a Putin apologist...

She's live on 🇷🇺Russian State TV announcing that she's defected.

Sitting with Maria Butina whom she refers to as a friend.

h/t @OzKaterji ImageImage
Tara Reade just spent much of her 🇷🇺on camera time pushing right wing talking points about the 2024 US election.

Oh, and how wonderful things are in Russia. Image
Reade is just another American that has discovered the formula:

Go to 🇷🇺Russia & echo gov propaganda... and the government will make sure you get all the flattery you can eat. Image
By Reade's telling she was so blown away by 🇷🇺Russian cuisine & museums while in town for an interview... that the decision was spontaneous.

Butina echoes the narrative. Image
Hope America can survive the grifter brain drain to 🇷🇺Russia.
Tara [Reade] asked me to make it possible for her to come to Moscow..when she told her entire story...we Russians would never leave people to their devices... what she does here will make a major contribution to promoting unity between our two nations.

- Maria Butina Image

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More from @jsrailton

Jul 8
THE #EU parliament #spyware debate has kicked off, follow along with me.

( triggered by the hacking of a MEP investigating spyware w/Pegasus)

It kicks off as expected with Commissioner @dubravkasuica (Croatia) trying frame the issue as a national one (govs should investigate...not the parliament).

This is likely to be unpopular among MEPs concerned by spyware abuses.

Next up? MEP & spyware victim @KrzysztofBrejza 1/Image
2/ Next: MEP @KrzysztofBrejza, himself a spyware target is clear: mercenary spyware is a risk to democracy & institutions.

I've experienced it myself. Spyware is dangerous when in the hands of the wrong ppl.

A very powerful statement.Image
@krzysztofbrejza 3/ Strong statements by @alexagiussaliba: Every citizen has the right to privacy.

This issue needs to be clearly investigated.

Spyware is incredibly invasive. Image
Read 11 tweets
Jul 3
BREAKING: 🇪🇺EU lawmaker investigating spyware abuses was hacked with Pegasus.

Infected during key moments of the PEGA committee.

More proof that it's spyware open season in Europe.. yet nothing is being done 1/

Our @citizenlab forensic investigation: citizenlab.ca/research/membe…Image
Image
2/Your're a MEP on the PEGA committee.

You spend a year hearing bleak testimony from spyware victims.

Journalists..dissidents... politicians. Lives upended by hacking.

They you learn that you're also a victim.

Meet @SteliosKoul.

By @AntoanetaRoussi politico.eu/article/probe-…Image
3/ @SteliosKoul's iPhone was hacked with a Pegasus zero-click attack.

No link to click. No attachment to open.

One minute your phone is private, the next it's a spy in your pocket.

Access to all your files, camera, microphone.

Listening to meetings & your private life.Image
Read 11 tweets
Jun 8
BREAKING: NSO Group caught trying to hack across @WhatsApp. Again!

In defiance of 🇺🇸US Courts.

WhatsApp disrupted the Pegasus campaign & says it violates US Federal injunction they won against NSO.

Asks Federal judge to hold NSO Group in contempt.

Many implications... 1/Image
Image
2/ Back in 2019 @WhatsApp sued NSO Group for hacking 1.4k of their users.

NSO tried every possible tactic to dodge the case.

But lost spectacularly in 2024 and got hit with huge damages & later a permanent injunction against hacking WhatsApp.

reuters.com/technology/cyb…Image
@WhatsApp 3/ Despite bruising losses in American court...

And getting 🇺🇸US sanctioned...

NSO chose optimism & has been trying to persuade everybody that they are reformed & should be delisted

I think is the eventual goal = get Pegasus spyware into US policing.
timesofisrael.com/seeking-to-get…Image
Read 8 tweets
May 7
It is hard to denounce China's Great Firewall when European politicians are preparing to demand the same thing.

It always starts with a call to protect children.

But it ends with adults needing permission to share their political views.

Embarrassingly short sighted.
2/ Parents want to protect their children, but once you build & implement bones of a system like this, with government developed 'verification' apps you've loaded the gun & pointed it at free expression.

You also suppress innovation.
3/ The funny thing? Every dictatorial regime has struggled to fight VPNs..

So what happens? You wind up with motivated & well-resourced people circumventing your controls...

And a society where everyone simultaneously feels less private & like they should be self-censoring.
Read 5 tweets
May 2
PAY ATTENTION: China just figured out a global veto on who gets to speak.

#RightsCon is a massive tech & rights conference.

Thousands attend from everywhere.

It was scheduled for next week in #Zambia with their gov's full cooperation.

Then, 🇨🇳#China made a call. 1/Image
2/ Last Monday, the #Zambian endorsed #RightsCon. Again.

Then, pressure from #China came down hard.

Almost immediately, things went sideways.

Starting at the border...

rightscon.org/rc26-statement/Image
Image
3/ People were already flying in from all over the globe to #Zambia... thousands were to follow.

Suddenly the tone at customs changed.

Customs officials were telling exhausted & puzzled attendees that their conference was cancelled.

Meanwhile? Official silence.

Weird, right?Image
Read 8 tweets
Apr 9
BREAKING: You checked the weather this morning.

And you just told a surveillance company where you sleep.

Meet #Webloc, used by ICE, cops & foreign govs to track 500m+ phones.

No warrant required.

Our latest @citizenlab investigation + how to protect yourself 🧵/1Image
Image
2/ Heard of ADINT aka ADvertising INTelligence?

Your apps don't just show ads.

They stream of info about your GPS location + a unique identifier to HUNDREDS OF BROKERS EVERY SECOND.

The industry swears the data is "anonymous" but it's actually a Spies-eye-view. Of everyone.Image
3/ Companies peddle the BS that advertising data is 'anonymous'

They want to keep you in the dark.

Because, behind the scenes...your weather app is a blinking tracking beacon.

And then players like @penlink turn that beacon into a data flow.

And sell it to governments.
Read 15 tweets

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