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WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

ft.com

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Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#71

Post by jtl999 »

joecool1029 wrote: post #60
JacobHenner wrote: post #24

Wonder if this affects Signal, too.

My gut tells me no. Signal switched over to using the Signal Protocol for call signaling. It had used a few different signaling standards over the years (when it used to be called Redphone). However, it's impossible to really know for sure as the server component for calls is a proprietary black box.

> However, it's impossible to really know for sure as the server component for calls is a proprietary black box.

I thought that changed after migrating to WebRTC? Although I haven't tried to spin up my own Signal server, modify the APK and see what works and doesn't work.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#72

Post by lixtra »

int_19h wrote: post #69
bjourne wrote: post #7

All my life I've thought spyware was developed primarily by evil Russian and Chinese hackers. But apparently also by Israeli developers with their government's blessing and open endorsement. That's some very shady stuff. Before someone says something about government surveillance of fiber cables. Yes, that is also bad, but exploiting vulnerabilities to install spyware on peoples phones... It crosses yet another line…

You're talking about a government that has a long track record of assassinating and abducting people in other countries, including Western liberal democracies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_assassinations... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu#Disclosure,_a... Whatever lines there were, they have long been crossed.

Abducting people in western countries unfortunately seems to be the norm in the war on terror, not only by the Israelis [1].

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Omar_case

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#73

Post by dang »

bitcurious wrote: post #18
wubnf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>All my life I've thought spyware was developed primarily by evil Russian and Chinese hackers. But apparently also by Israeli developers with their government's blessing and open endorsement. Guess who controls the media and therefore the narrative.

...

Please don't break the site guidelines by feeding trolls or taking threads further into flamewar. That only makes this place worse.

Instead, flag the comment. Other users did that, which killed the comment and alerted us so we could ban the account. In egregious cases, you can also let us know about it at hn@ycombinator.com.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#74

Post by macintux »

eof wrote: post #30
bjourne wrote: post #7

All my life I've thought spyware was developed primarily by evil Russian and Chinese hackers. But apparently also by Israeli developers with their government's blessing and open endorsement. That's some very shady stuff. Before someone says something about government surveillance of fiber cables. Yes, that is also bad, but exploiting vulnerabilities to install spyware on peoples phones... It crosses yet another line…

I love how you’ve been convinced that Russia and China are naughty and Israel is somehow too good to be shady.

Well, the first half of that statement seems undeniably true.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#75

Post by lixtra »

bouncycastle wrote: post #50
thelittleone wrote: post #46

I guess these types of vulnerabilities could be placed intentionally. It would allow certain agencies to again access via "exploit" and all the while claim they support user privacy. These companies are under pressure from governments (like the recent Australian government law to requiring access to encrypted messages). Seems like a decent solution for company and governments.

It's not a decent solution, because it doesn't take much to find these vulnerabilities, just a matter of time.

But time is enough. New bugs can be introduced with the next update.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#76

Post by macintux »

forgotmypw3 wrote: post #4

WhatsApp voice calls used to inject Israeli spyware on phones Messaging app discovers vulnerability that has been open for weeks NSO's Pegasus software can allegedly penetrate any iPhone via one simple missed call on WhatsApp Mehul Srivastava in Tel Aviv MAY 13, 2019 Print this page A vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp has allowed attackersto inject commercial Israeli spyware on to phones, the company and a…

Nice of you to include the copyright line in your violation of same.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#77

Post by HillaryBriss »

bjourne wrote: post #7

All my life I've thought spyware was developed primarily by evil Russian and Chinese hackers. But apparently also by Israeli developers with their government's blessing and open endorsement. That's some very shady stuff. Before someone says something about government surveillance of fiber cables. Yes, that is also bad, but exploiting vulnerabilities to install spyware on peoples phones... It crosses yet another line…

crossing a new line is a way to signal your opponent that you're unafraid of any and all of their potential retaliation. it is a way to tell them that (you think) you dominate them.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#78

Post by googlemike »

dane-pgp wrote: post #61
xenospn wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They managed to destroy Iranian nuclear centrifuges using a very sophisticated attack. Read up on Stuxnet. Also, as an Israeli, I can 100% confirm that Israelis have absolutely no issues with crossing any kind of boundary. The fact that others think that such a thing as "boundaries" exist only serves as an advantage.

> I can 100% confirm that Israelis have absolutely no issues with crossing any kind of boundary. Is this a subtle reference to the Israeli occupation of Palestine?

Not an occupation.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#79

Post by Buge »

bjourne wrote: post #36
roywiggins wrote: post #11

It's not just the NSO group. Hacking Team is not exactly shy about the services they offer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacking_Team FinFisher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FinFisher MiniPanzer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniPanzer_and_MegaPanzer

Wow! I had no idea there was a whole industry selling spyware to dictatorships. Surveillance equipment, yes, but not actual hacking tools. Really sickening. Must be why governments in Europe are so afraid of Huawei building 5G networks - they will only run Chinese spyware.

I don't quite understand the Huawei analogy. NSO isn't partnering with Israeli companies to preinstall malware on their stuff. So I don't see how this is an indication that a Chinese version of NSO will partner with Huawei to preinstall malware on Huawei stuff. If NSO can hack American software, then Chinese NSO can hack American software too.

Re: WhatsApp voice calls were used to inject spyware on phones

#80

Post by lostlogin »

azinman2 wrote: post #65
lostlogin wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Israel has nuclear weapons and its MAD policies are probably the same as other nuclear powers. But with a much more controversial relationship with it neighbours, who’s land it illegally occupies and state policies that are compared to apartheid policies.

I think you don’t know much about apartheid or the situation in Israel / Palestine to compare the two.

Both of us can say this, it’s unproductive. The situation in Israel and the occupied territory is grossly unfair.
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