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Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

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Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#71

Post by geodel »

nehal3m wrote: post #33
miohtama wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple needs to work with authoritarian governments, or nobody is going to build our iPhones. I would guess it’s obvious for everyone who gets the message that they are political targets. However it is also important to call out abuse of power, like is in the case of India, Spain, Poland, where the governing party is spying the opposition in order to find ways to get rid of them.

> Apple needs to work with authoritarian governments, or nobody is going to build our iPhones. Not only is this objectively true, I also have an iPhone. It's not news to me but it still makes me do a double take every time. Maybe I should try oscillating to Linux and FairPhone again...

Well you can also try committing to new year resolutions and so many other things. But companies have bet on consumers value convenience over everything else. And so far they've been right in almost every instance.

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#72

Post by reaperducer »

pksebben wrote: post #10

Between the Metaverse, "mercenary spyware", AI war targeting, and death drones, I keep wondering who it is that read Neuromancer and thought; "What a rosy picture! How can we realize this stunning vision of a future-to-be?"

I keep wondering who it is that read Neuromancer and thought; "What a rosy picture! How can we realize this stunning vision of a future-to-be?"

The same people who read 1984 and thought the same thing.

Or the people who failed to read 1984, so they didn't get the warnings.

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#74

Post by saagarjha »

kmeisthax wrote: post #15

Note that "mercenary spyware" is the politically correct term Apple chose for "state-sponsored attacker" because Modi complained that Apple was exposing them for using illegal NSO Group spyware.

Mercenary spyware isn’t a new term. It’s inclusive of hacking-for-hire groups that are not state entities or funded by countries.

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#77

Post by geodel »

kmeisthax wrote: post #15

Note that "mercenary spyware" is the politically correct term Apple chose for "state-sponsored attacker" because Modi complained that Apple was exposing them for using illegal NSO Group spyware.

Well "mercenary" do sound weasel term but calling it "state sponsored" with releasing details for others to research and prove/disprove isn't doing much apart from agitating supposed states.

Any government has to take Apple's word seriously it is not like an individual or small time company claiming that government illegally tapped their phones or hacked computer and government doesn't even bother to respond because its not worth their time.

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#78

Post by saagarjha »

resource_waste wrote: post #68
hiatus wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there any company as big as Apple with so many major security issues? To be fair, does any Android device alert you to a compromise like this?

Android is more secure, especially in recent history. You can even see it in 0 day bounties. Don't pay attention to Samsung though, that company is probably the Apple equivalent of android.

I don’t see how the bounties back this up?

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#79

Post by ZekeSulastin »

sneak wrote: post #58
the_mar wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of curiosity why would you have imessage turned off?

iMessage histories are backed up in the nightly automatic non-e2ee iCloud Backup, effectively backdooring iMessage’s “end to end encryption” by escrowing the plaintext to a not-endpoint. Apple can read approximately everyone’s iMessages out of their backups. It’s not private or secure, and claiming it is end to end encrypted is misleading almost to the point of being actually false.

Albeit recent and optional, isn’t that a hole specifically fixed by the Advanced Data Protection option[0]? Granted, it doesn’t do much if your recipients don’t also have it enabled.

0: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651

Re: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks

#80

Post by pvg »

freedomben wrote: post #45
sigspec wrote: post #12

Pegasus and NSO. (Edit: of course I'm flagged for this. Surprise surprise)

I spend way too much time on HN, and having seen how often flags are abused or simply used too liberally, I think they are way too over powered. A lot of good discussion gets killed by flags right it of the gate. Sometimes it gets vouched and redeemed, but the vast majority of the time the damage is done and that comment or story languishes in obscurity.

The comment doesn't really say anything and the commenter is not saying they edited the comment to make it just non-substantive rather than non-substantive and inflammatory.
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