Nayib Bukele may be Palestinian, but the dictatorship he has built in El Salvador is very much made in Israel. From arming his security forces to supplying him with weapons and high-tech surveillance tools, MintPress explores the Israeli influence helping to prop up the man who calls himself “the world’s coolest dictator.”
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Trump, Gaza, and the Network State: Tech Colonialism Rises + Cuba
The biggest destroyer of the global economic and trade order is being paranoid. This is perhaps the most incisive and vivid explanation of why the US government and media outlets have seen a rumored ban on iPhones as China’s retaliation against the US.
Hype on iPhone ‘ban’ shows US has a guilty conscience
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US spokesman behind on the news pours gas on seemingly settled China iPhone ban
In what appears to be a statement generated before news of the Chinese government refuting ban rumors, the White House chimed in on the matter, as reported by Bloomberg. The National Security Council shared that it is watching the issue with concern.
Microsoft and Citizen Lab have new reports out about QuaDream, a little-known Israeli mercenary spyware provider
Mercenary spyware hacked iPhone victims with rogue calendar invites, researchers say
Ellen Min doesn’t go to the grocery store anymore. She avoids bars and going out to eat with her friends; festivals and community events are out, too. This year, she opted not to take her kids to the local St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Asian Americans are anxious about hate crimes. TikTok ban rhetoric isn’t helping
The market for commercial spyware — which allows governments to invade mobile phones and vacuum up data — is booming. Even the U.S. government is using it.
How the Global Spyware Industry Spiraled Out of Control
During the Trump administration, the FBI paid $5 million to an Israeli software company for a license to use its “zero-click” surveillance software called Pegasus. Zero-click refers to software that can download the contents of a target’s computer or mobile device without the need for tricking the target into clicking on it. The FBI operated the software from a warehouse in New Jersey.
The FBI and Zero-Click
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NSO Group Pitched Phone Hacking Tech to American Police
A former NSO employee told Motherboard that Phantom was “a brand name for U.S. territory,” but the “same Pegasus,” referring to NSO’s phone hacking tool that the company has sold to multiple countries including the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia for millions of dollars. Infamously, Saudi Arabia used the software to surveil associates of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Motherboard granted the source anonymity to protect them from retaliation from NSO
Jeremy Bash served on committee advising on sales of company’s Pegasus spyware to foreign agencies
Biden intelligence adviser previously vetted deals for Israeli NSO Group
Researchers determined a network of 885 websites used by the CIA was so easy to spot and crack that an “amateur sleuth” could have mapped it.
Researchers Say the CIA’s Amateurish Websites Led to the Exposure of Critical Assets (archived)
There’s another player in the phone malware game. NSO is far from the only malware merchant out there. Its products are the most well-known and the most dangerous, thanks to zero-click deployment options.
Greek Intelligence Service Boss Resigns After Journalist, Opposition Party Member Targeted With Phone Malware
By Suraya Dadoo | MEMO | February 24, 2021
As internet penetration and smartphone usage increases across Africa, digital spaces have become increasingly important for organising political uprisings and opposition movements. In response, several of the continent’s regimes have shut down the internet or blocked social media apps. To sidestep the economic costs and global criticism that these online shutdowns incur, governments have turned to digital surveillance technology as a shrewder way to crush all opposition.
African governments are crushing opposition using Israeli spyware
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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