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US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

apnews.com

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Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#91

Post by thomassmith65 »

westmeal wrote: post #65
wesselbindt wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Goodness me where oh where could that anti US bias come from? Couldn't be the illegal bombing of Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War, couldn't be arming the Guatamalans who carried out the silent Holocaust, couldn't be arming the Turks while they were slaughtering Kurds, couldn't be the illegal invasion of Iraq, killing up to a million people, and torturing others without due process, ultimately leading to viole…

All of that was for freedoms though /s

At least there's a figleaf. The 20th Century could have been the German Century, or the Soviet Century. For all America's sins, most people did well living in the American Century.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#92

Post by cess11 »

linotype wrote: post #62
peppers-ghost wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That bias is earned, especially over actions the US has committed covertly in Europe over the last 50 years.

Such as?

Buying off the mafia with a resurrection of the global heroin trade in exchange for them crushing certain popular parties and unions.

Joining forces with fascists in Operation Gladio.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#93

Post by tehjoker »

breppp wrote: post #12
kennywinker wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Headlines are written by the publisher not the author. They’re written to maximize readership. The fact that spying happened in italy by italians is mostly only interesting to italians. The fact that the US backs an israeli company that sells spying tools is interesting to many more people. You can see the selling clicks, but because they’re not twisting the truth or saying something misleading - in this case I mostl…

However, the fact that companies sell offensive cyber warfare software to governments is not new, and that specific company isn't either. There's also nothing inherently wrong with selling intelligence tools to a western government, Italy is not Iran or Zambia. And fighting terror or crime using software is valid. The only thing that surprises me is that a western government might attack journalists, and what I'd lik…

Actually, there is a lot wrong with selling intelligence tools to western governments. They are doing some of the most evil shit in the world and are complicit in genocide at the moment.

No one should be buying Israeli consumer goods, let alone weapons or security tools as part of Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#94

Post by input_sh »

ethagnawl wrote: post #68

How does the exploit work, though? The article does some real handwaving around "now the device is yours and now it's not". They don't need to go too deep but isn't anyone reading that far into the article going to be curious?

You're not gonna find technical details in an AP article of all places.

You will find it in CitizenLab's report: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/06/first-forensic-confirmation-of...

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#95

Post by burkaman »

sailfast wrote: post #7

[flagged]

You are missing that facts are not universally known, and it is normal and good for news organizations to provide ongoing coverage of stories their readers might care about. Many people who read this article will have never heard of governments spying on domestic journalists, or Italy doing that, or the type of software used, or the US funding that software, or some combination of these things.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#97

Post by input_sh »

resource_waste wrote: post #16

Oh look Apple devices were hacked again . Security through obscurity isnt really working out. Their big cash apparently isnt enough. I have sensitive data on my phone that I must carry around, and there is no way I'd ever keep it on an iphone. 'Pegasus' was the moment corporations and governments should have banned iphones for their terrible security.

Pegasus exploited both iOS and Android, not just iOS.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#98

Post by jplrssn »

burkaman wrote: post #86
jplrssn wrote: post #20

> Ciro Pellegrino, who heads the Naples newsroom of an investigative news outlet called Fanpage.it, received a notice on April 29 that his iPhone had been targeted. Last year, Fanpage secretly infiltrated the youth wing of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and filmed some of them making fascist and racist remarks. It's never a good look going after journalists, but this seems especially petty.

Attending a political party's events and reporting what they say and do is petty?

Deploying spyware against journalists in retaliation for their exposing racism in the governing party's youth wing is petty.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#99

Post by cess11 »

slg wrote: post #53
mr90210 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> US contributions to ensuring peace in Europe Name the contributions after 1945.

Do they not teach about the Marshall Plan in schools anymore? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan

It was a main driver of the initial Cold War and conditioned on policy, basically neutering european sovereignty and pushing Soviet in a similar direction to try and counter this effort.

Political and economic dependency is a fallout that is still a problematic issue today, almost forty years after the fall of the USSR. The ongoing war in eastern Europe was pushed for by the US, more or less as a prolongation of the same strategy of US dominance in Europe.

Re: US-backed Israeli company's spyware used to target European journalists

#100

Post by croes »

breppp wrote: post #49
croes wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the time the country of the creator is named if it’s about spyware. The misuse of such tools outweighs the legitimate use cases, so people want to know who is so reckless to sell these programs

I don't understand what's the difference if Italy develops its own or buys it from somewhere else. Comparably, phone tapping equipment is being sold world wide for almost a century and is used similarly The fact that some countries that gets these tools starts listening to journalists is concerning, but at least I want to believe it happens less in functioning countries But I don't see any issue with taking remote co…

Some spyware like Pegasus is notorious.

It’s always shady if someone uses it because of its high misuse potential.

It’s the computer equivalent of a ABC weapon.

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