PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy • Hacker News Board

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#261

Post by LMYahooTFY » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:24 PM UTC

mirimir wrote: post #106

LMYahooTFY wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excuse if I'm wrong, but is the implication that this should not occur at all? I'm not sure how that's even possible.

Sure, it happens all the time. But the implications depend on context. It's not a huge issue that Palantir is loaded with former CIA and NSA people. Except about financial issues. But former intelligence folk running a VPN service? That makes one wonder what their goals actually are. That is, "maintain those connections and shared goals therewith". Many don't trust the Tor Project, for just that reason.

Do you have a source for any of that?

Who at the Tor Project is a former intelligence employee?

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#262

Post by iongoatb » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:31 PM UTC

I've relied on PIA for years and I'm 100% dropping them for good. They promise to never log, but that's clearly an empty promise. Their TOS says that they can change the terms at any time without notifying anyone. This new partnership with Kape is an intelligence operation with the 14 eyes. A spy never becomes a "former" spy. I love my country, but I love my rights as well, and I refuse to be surveilled illegally.

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#263

Post by computerfriend » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:31 PM UTC

ActorNightly wrote: post #129

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trust and ethics are important. A company that is identified as using questionable ethics in business, for an extended period, is not automatically "reset to neutral" by airdropping in a new management team and a rebrand. Honestly? That sounds more like a move to bury the bad news, which has a long and effective history, just as the day a story goes public does - The Friday News Dump, Thanksgiving News Dump, etc. So,…

I honestly want to agree with HN on this, but then Im reminded of the constant support for Apple on here, despite the fact that they have violated user trust on numerous occasions, while PIA has not. So I did some checking: * Teddy Sagi is a entrepreneur. To say that he is an ex spy is a gross misstatement. Yes, he worked as a developer in Israeli SIGINT program - so do a lot of developers who work for any number of…

> To say that he is an ex spy is a gross misstatement. Yes, he worked as a developer in Israeli SIGINT program

This makes him an ex-spy. There's no prejudice or judgement in saying so, it's simply true.

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#264

Post by Krasnol » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:35 PM UTC

rasengan wrote: post #4

This article and articles like this miscast Kape in an incorrect light. To be clear, in the past the company was known as CrossRider and provided a developer SDK that could be used to integrate with browsers. Unfortunately, CrossRider didn't do enough to prevent malware (like platforms these days and their fake news) and the platform was used by some bad people for bad purposes. When the new management team of CrossR…

> The merger between Kape and PIA affords PIA the resources needed to bring privacy to the mainstream.

What does that even mean?

As for VPNs, you have been mainstream.

There was no other VPN service more recommended on reddit. Even here you've made a relevant impact on recommendations. How does that not provide enough funds? What have you done with all that money and why exactly do you need more?

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#265

Post by Krasnol » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:36 PM UTC

Is there some sticky mechanism going on here or how is that raengan comment so far on top even with all those comments disagreeing with the content of it?

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#266

Post by matt4077 » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:42 PM UTC

Razengan wrote: post #221

icelancer wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't generally prove someone isn't beating their wife. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded_question

When the concern is our privacy and secrecy, isn’t it better to err on the side of caution than trust naively? What if it were a matter of health? Should we trust before verifying? Would it still be a “loaded” question?

By that logic everyone and everything is corrupt, monitored, etc. Including the hardware you might install your own VPN node on, all messenger apps, all phone lines, the mail, and so on. Your best friends are all spies. Your bedroom is bugged.

That would mean there is absolutely no way to improve your privacy and you might as well do nothing.

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#267

Post by Jamwinner » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:44 PM UTC

epse wrote: post #132

markdown wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure there's such a thing as a former Israeli spy. That being so, this may be a Mossad operation, in which case the US is powerless to do anything about it.

That unit is part of the Israeli army, and Israel has conscription so inevitably a lot of people will end up there. Should none of them be trustworthy?

I would like to rephrase a greyed out comment in a less inflamatory language:

Is the current and recent government of Israel known for highly funded hacking operations (stuxnet), misinformation (palastine), or general shadyness (Bibi)?

(Previous comment generalized to all isralis, presumably due to their military service requirement, but that does not honestly reflect on the individual citizen or resident. )

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#268

Post by rasengan » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:54 PM UTC

kemonocode wrote: post #236

rasengan wrote: post #4

This article and articles like this miscast Kape in an incorrect light. To be clear, in the past the company was known as CrossRider and provided a developer SDK that could be used to integrate with browsers. Unfortunately, CrossRider didn't do enough to prevent malware (like platforms these days and their fake news) and the platform was used by some bad people for bad purposes. When the new management team of CrossR…

I hope you understand why people are extremely reluctant on forgiving and forgetting, especially involving something as sensitive as a VPN which, in some cases, can truly be a matter of life or death.

I absolutely do, and I have always known. In particular, it’s been humbling to see the reaction on HN and I appreciate the amount of trust and love the community has had for us. I understand we are held to a different standard than other VPNs who hide their locations and ownership and are constantly caught logging - and I appreciate it.

Hacker News, we won’t let you down.

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#269

Post by baobabKoodaa » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:59 PM UTC

rasengan wrote: post #4

This article and articles like this miscast Kape in an incorrect light. To be clear, in the past the company was known as CrossRider and provided a developer SDK that could be used to integrate with browsers. Unfortunately, CrossRider didn't do enough to prevent malware (like platforms these days and their fake news) and the platform was used by some bad people for bad purposes. When the new management team of CrossR…

Andrew, will you be offering refunds to your customers who have paid for your service and will no longer be able to use it because of the acquisition?

Re: PIA VPN to be acquired by malware company founded by former Israeli spy

#270

Post by rasengan » Mon, Dec 02, 2019, 3:59 PM UTC

nickpsecurity wrote: post #252

rasengan wrote: post #4

This article and articles like this miscast Kape in an incorrect light. To be clear, in the past the company was known as CrossRider and provided a developer SDK that could be used to integrate with browsers. Unfortunately, CrossRider didn't do enough to prevent malware (like platforms these days and their fake news) and the platform was used by some bad people for bad purposes. When the new management team of CrossR…

"The merger between Kape and PIA affords PIA the resources needed" I'm one of those people who understand the importance of reputation and integrity. One bad deal might ruin mine forever. You needed resources to expand your privacy business. Did you try and fail to partner with reputable businesses such as Mozilla, get funding from governments/foundations, etc? Did you try to get with amoral companies whose backgroun…

We actually did reach out to many groups including some of those you mentioned.

You would be surprised to find that “non profit” doesn’t always mean “for the public good.”

As for others that were willing to partner with us, they wouldn’t sign a no log pact so I had no interest to work with them. It’s shocking how many private VPNs are shadily logging and/or selling your data.