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Omer Benjakob Profile picture
@omerbenj
Sep 14 • 22 tweets • 8 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
🚨SCOOP: My new @Haaretzcom investigation reveals new Israeli cyber companies developed technology that exploits the heart of the online economy - ads - not just for mass surveillance, but also to hack phones 👇

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🚨This is surveillance capitalism at its finest! The world of "digital arms" has evolved, moving into the realm of ad-based intelligence (AdInt). This is how this next-gen digital weapon leaked into the private cyber arms sector >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🏁There's a digital arms race taking place over the last 5 years to use ads not just for geolocation - but also as a cyber weapon >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
NSO also tried to get into the game and developed a yet-reported product called Truman to try to take the lead in developing an offensive AdInt market. But the twist? They never got to launch it >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🌐 Enter Insanet: Not just a catchy name, but a nod to the insanity of their tech. Founded in 2019, they're the only firm to every legally sell an offensive AdInt technology >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🎯Insanet managed to legally navigate these turbulent waters, selling a product that many deemed... well, insane!

🖥️Their product - "Sherlock." This tool exploited ads to infiltrate devices - peak of surveillance capitalism. It has the power to breach Windows, iPhones, AND Androids. A universal hacking tool >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
💰The price tag for such a vector? An eye-watering 6 million euros for a single infection. If Pegasus is considered the nuclear bomb of digital arms, Sherlock is the warhead >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
Image
🌐 Who's behind Insanet? A group of seasoned cyber entrepreneurs with strong Israeli intelligence ties and young innovators with a dual background in military cyber units and the ad industry >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🚫Insanet's journey wasn't smooth sailing. Although they could initially legally sell Sherlock, the Israeli Defense Ministry soon reigned in their permit. They did manage to sell Sherlock to one (nondemocratic) country >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🤝Amidst all this regulatory uncertainty, Insanet sought partnerships: They held discussions with other firms like Paragon, Nemesis, and Candiru, aiming to merge technologies to try to overcome regulatory barriers >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🖥️ A leaked 2019 Candiru sales document shows how Sherlock was billed alongside their PC spyware. As a vector, it can breach Windows, iPhones, AND Androids. At the time, no one knew Insanet existed & the tool was (mis)attributed to Candiru

citizenlab.ca/2021/07/hookin…
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🏁Rayzone was an industry leader in AdInt. They even coined the term! And their Echo software is considered the best in the non-offensive field >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🖥️Initially focusing on geo-surveillance, amid market pressure, Rayzone also pivoted to develop an offensive ad-based tool - and they, too, secured the coveted Defense Ministry's approval (despite reports claiming otherwise & despite massive delays) >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🔍So, where does this leave the world of digital arms? The debate rages on: AdInt - is it civilian or military tech?

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🖥️Even anonymous and GDPR compliant AdInt can still have HLS value: Cobwebs, which specializes in OSINT, offers tech that can locate a mobile device via ad data. The company illustrates this capability through a potential target in Iran!

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🚨 The #COVID19 pandemic boosted the anonymous/OSINT AdInt industry. With heightened demand for digital tracking, firms like Intelos, revealed here for the first time, pitched means for governments to monitor citizen behaviors via ad data 🦠📲

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
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🎯 Up till now, companies using open sources for civilian clients weren't under state supervision, while cyber companies like Insanet faced tight oversight. The lines are blurring >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🌍 The global implications? Israeli firms developed tech that was meant to counter terrorism, but as they are sold to nations with questionable track records, they are frequently abused and turned on journalists and human rights defenders >>

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🌌 Israel, under U.S. pressure, reduced the list of countries cyberarms could be sold to. But a dark market is already looming! Beyond regulated sales, a shadow market may sell these new digital weapons to questionable states or even private entities!

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🔄 It's a cycle: Tech evolves, exploits are patched, regulations tighten, spyware companies adapt and hacking continues. But one thing is clear: the digital arms race has reached a new frontier

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
🛑 It's new era of digital warfare and the lines between ads, tech, and espionage blur. As technology continues to advance, the need for well-governed ethical use and strict regulations becomes paramount

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

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More from @omerbenj

Omer Benjakob Profile picture
May 22
SCOOP with @DrWhax

- Israel killed Morocco's access to Pegasus - but also failed to okay its deal with QuaDream

- Leaked code reveals their spyware and show it may have abused WhatsApp

- Sources: Firm also developed “terrifying” new spyware

haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Pieces of QuaDream’s code, which was leaked by an employee, likely by mistake, revealed Reign, but also Blue Spear – a previously unknown program that seems to serve as the web interface through which the targeted devices are likley infected / @DrWhax

haaretz.com/israel-news/se… Image
Full technical analysis of QuaDream's leaked code can be found here by @DrWhax haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Read 4 tweets
Omer Benjakob Profile picture
Feb 15
At the center of their service is AIMS. A never-before-seen software for creating not bots - but avatars. Complex digital personas that seem real and operate across platforms. AIMS has almost 40k
haaretz.com/israel-news/se…

#TeamJorge @FredMetzo @GurMegiddo
The fake accounts are grouped and AIMS' avatar management dashboard boasts: “African, Arabian, Armenian, Brazilian, Canada, European (mix), Philippines, Russia, Senegal, South America, Ukraine, USA and Zimbabwe.”
#TeamJorge @FredMetzo @GurMegiddo

haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
AIMS also allows the creation of new accounts - they automatic creation of new avatars, with unique names, pics (stolen from real people), an email and even a phone number

#TeamJorge @FredMetzo @GurMegiddo

haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Read 23 tweets
Omer Benjakob Profile picture
Feb 15
SCOOP: We went undercover & discovered a secret disinformation-for-hire group called Team Jorge selling election interference, hack-and-leak & influence as a service. They claim to have meddled in 33 elections THREAD #TeamJorge @FredMetzo @GurMegiddo haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
tldr; Team Jorge are a 1-stop-shop of influence & psyops

Their business model: disinformation-as-a-service, or DaaS.

Their software: AIMS, an advanced system for creating and deploying fake accounts without detection

#TeamJorge @FredMetzo @GurMegiddo
haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
tldr; Over 6 secretly recorded meetings, they pitched their DaaS tech, boasted about past activities. For 6+ months 100+ reporters investigated their claims @Damien_Leloup @flornrnd @Kzalan @HoffHeiner @christo_buschek @romanlehberger @m_hoppenstedt @skirchy to name a few
Read 13 tweets
Omer Benjakob Profile picture
Dec 23, 2022
SCOOP Meet Toka, an Israeli camera hacking firm set up by former PM Ehud Barak and the IDF’s ex-cyber chief. It sells only to intel bodies and law enforcement and allows them to “access” and “alter” camera feeds
haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Toka is under Israeli ministry of defense oversight - its clients are mostly US and it’s allies in the west, but also includes Israel and likely Singapore Revealed: The Israeli Firm Selling ‘Dystopian’ Hacking Capabilities - National Security & Cyber
haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
According to a company pitch deck obtained by @Haaretz @haaretzcom, Toka offers “previously out-of-reach capabilities” that “transform untapped IoT sensors into intelligence sources,” and can be used “for intelligence and operational needs.”

haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Read 4 tweets
Omer Benjakob Profile picture
Nov 30, 2022
Sometimes all it takes is one selfie on a private jet by a single employee to launch a cross-border investigation into the dark side of the digital arms market @avischarf @LHreports @cr0ft0n @daniel_howden @e_triantafillou @telloglou >> haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Together w Lighthouse Reports & Inside Story we analysed/cross-referenced hundreds of flight records, linking the plane to key locations, and combed dozens of passenger lists, corporate filings, employment records & secret/open data sources
haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
We tracked the plane to Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Riyadh. Confidential docs show the company was pushing hard for deals in Africa, and had engaged a network of known arms dealers to pitch its products to Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Kenya Equatorial Guinea. haaretz.com/israel-news/se…
Read 8 tweets
Omer Benjakob Profile picture
Aug 22, 2022
A short thread on Pegasus, the Israeli occupation and how we define terror in wake of this AMAZING Guardian scoop about the CIA calling BS on Israel's claim that Palestinian rights orgs are terror groups- a claim based on intel collected by hacking phones
theguardian.com/world/2022/aug…
Last October, Israel's then defense minister blacklisted six Palestinian orgs. The move caused an outcry among rights groups across the world. But Israel was adamant these were NOT rights groups but terror groups haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
"The groups are controlled by the senior leadership of the PFLP and employ many members of the group in jobs in both management and on the ground – including activists who were involved in terrorism," Israel said at the time.

haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
Read 12 tweets

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