11–20 of 85 posts
20 years ago I discovered antivirus software did not detect spyware by design. So never ever trust software that is not FOSS. Use Foss with reproducible builds to be a bit more safe against these by design created weaknesses.
What about open source spyware?
20 years ago I discovered antivirus software did not detect spyware by design. So never ever trust software that is not FOSS. Use Foss with reproducible builds to be a bit more safe against these by design created weaknesses.
What about open source spyware?
Edit: Curious what part of the above statement is unhelpful or inaccurate…
I would like to point out that this kind of tech isn't only used by state sponsored operations. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50166147 Lone wolf creepers or quasi legal harassment companies have access to similar tools. https://www.nefariousjobsmain.com/the-works https://www.vice.com/en/article/ppmpe8/a-revenge-for-hire-bu... Although of course the state sponsored aspect of this is very real too, and the greate…
That is entirely disgusting. Destroying a life for money. That that's a possibility...
Trade ban... Every single government uses such tools. The ones that don't likely have bigger problems such as sustenance, lack of electricity, etc. What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. I can think of a few such companies that literally spy and track hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. The government is using their services and…
> What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. Limiting the ability of nations to export this kind of capability as a product for other entities to use is precisely what "trade ban" would do. You're right that a trade ban won't affect the ability of nations to develop and deploy their own spyware, but most of the targets in the Pegasus dump seem to b…
It's like banning arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia. All it does is push them towards China or Russia.
Banning this stuff just leads to consolidated power blocs of nasty regimes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We've got to get to them before microsoft and google do. Teach Linux in schools and about the importance of FLOSS. In my school in California it was all windows in the 1990's and 2000's.
> In my school in California it was all windows in the 1990's and 2000's. Yeah, it was that way even before that. Microsoft and Apple got into a "donation war" tryin'a get their corporate garbage into schools back when I was a kid. Looks like Microsoft largely won that war. Hard to fight multiple generations deep corporate brainwashing.
In these cases I think administrative oversight of broad and long term benefits to society is important, rather than the more narrow decision of "this choice will benefit next year's budget". Early offers by Microsoft were in a way a trap that kept schools and students paying for decades.
Trade ban... Every single government uses such tools. The ones that don't likely have bigger problems such as sustenance, lack of electricity, etc. What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. I can think of a few such companies that literally spy and track hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. The government is using their services and…
> What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. Limiting the ability of nations to export this kind of capability as a product for other entities to use is precisely what "trade ban" would do. You're right that a trade ban won't affect the ability of nations to develop and deploy their own spyware, but most of the targets in the Pegasus dump seem to b…
Who would issue and enforce such a ban? The US?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We've got to get to them before microsoft and google do. Teach Linux in schools and about the importance of FLOSS. In my school in California it was all windows in the 1990's and 2000's.
> In my school in California it was all windows in the 1990's and 2000's. Yeah, it was that way even before that. Microsoft and Apple got into a "donation war" tryin'a get their corporate garbage into schools back when I was a kid. Looks like Microsoft largely won that war. Hard to fight multiple generations deep corporate brainwashing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. Limiting the ability of nations to export this kind of capability as a product for other entities to use is precisely what "trade ban" would do. You're right that a trade ban won't affect the ability of nations to develop and deploy their own spyware, but most of the targets in the Pegasus dump seem to b…
You seem under the impression this software is being developed exclusively by big governments. It's mostly tiny shops in Israel, Bulgaria and such Who would issue and enforce such a ban? The US?
I can't tell what your point is, exactly. You're just making a cynical point that this won't work so we shouldn't even try?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What people should be looking at is the crazy amount of Israeli presence in the so called cyber security sector. Limiting the ability of nations to export this kind of capability as a product for other entities to use is precisely what "trade ban" would do. You're right that a trade ban won't affect the ability of nations to develop and deploy their own spyware, but most of the targets in the Pegasus dump seem to b…
Nations that want to do this will do it, and trade bans won't stop them. Or even discourage them. It's like banning arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia. All it does is push them towards China or Russia. Banning this stuff just leads to consolidated power blocs of nasty regimes.
Again, that's experimentally false. Saudi and Mexico didn't develop their own home-grown spyware. They bought an Israeli product instead. This stuff is harder than you think.