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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Facebook and its WhatsApp messenger division on Tuesday sued Israel-based spyware maker NSO Group. This is an unprecedented legal action that takes aim at the unregulated industry that sells sophisticated malware services to governments around the world. NSO vigorously denied the allegations.
Over an 11-day span in late April and early May, the suit alleges, NSO targeted about 1,400 mobile phones that belonged to attorneys, journalists, human-rights activists, political dissidents, diplomats, and senior foreign government officials. To infect the targets with NSO's advanced and full-featured spyware, the company exploited a critical WhatsApp vulnerability that worked against both iOS and Android devices. The clickless exploit was delivered when attackers made a video call. Targets need not have answered the call or taken any other action to be infected.
According to the complaint, NSO created WhatsApp accounts starting in January 2018 that initiated calls through WhatsApp servers and injected malicious code into the memory of targeted devices. The targeted phones would then use WhatsApp servers to connect to malicious servers allegedly maintained by NSO. The complaint, filed in federal court for the Northern District of California, stated:
In order to compromise the Target Devices, Defendants routed and caused to be routed malicious code through Plaintiffs' servers—including Signaling Servers and Relay Servers—concealed within part of the normal network protocol. WhatsApp's Signaling Servers facilitated the initiation of calls between different devices using the WhatsApp Service. WhatsApp's Relay Servers facilitated certain data transmissions over the WhatsApp Service. Defendants were not authorized to use Plaintiffs' servers in this manner.
Between approximately April and May 2019, Defendants used and caused to be used, without authorization, WhatsApp Signaling Servers, in an effort to compromise Target Devices. To avoid the technical restrictions built into WhatsApp Signaling Servers, Defendants formatted call initiation messages containing malicious code to appear like a legitimate call and concealed the code within call settings. Disguising the malicious code as call settings enabled Defendants to deliver it to the Target Device and made the malicious code appear as if it originated from WhatsApp Signaling Servers. Once Defendants' calls were delivered to the Target Device, they injected the malicious code into the memory of the Target Device—even when the Target User did not answer the call.
[...] Critics of the spyware industry have long said that NSO and its competitors sell products and services to oppressive governments that use them to target attorneys, journalists, human-rights advocates, and other groups that pose no legitimate threat. Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto research group that tracks hacking campaigns sponsored by governments, volunteered to help Facebook and WhatsApp investigate the attacks on its users. Citizen Lab said among those targeted in the campaign were 100 members of "civil society" from 20 countries.
Besides Facebook and WhatsApp apps and servers, NSO allegedly used servers owned by Amazon Web Services and smaller hosts Choopa and Quadrant. The leased servers connected targeted devices to a network of remote servers that were designed to distribute malware and send commands to devices once they were infected. Tuesday's complaint said that an IP address assigned to one of the malicious servers was previously used by a subdomain operated by NSO.
Now that Facebook and WhatsApp have taken the unprecedented step of suing a spyware provider for using its servers to target its users, it will be interesting to see if Amazon and the other server hosts mentioned in the complaint follow suit. So far, they haven't responded to emails seeking comment.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Wednesday October 30 2019, @08:11PM (20 children)
Facebook DOESN'T like its users being spied on?
Or they do?
Or....I'm confoosed.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Wednesday October 30 2019, @08:29PM (2 children)
It's complicated. Facebook belongs to another faction than NSO Group belongs to.
The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @12:06AM (1 child)
Khazar vs Reformed?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @12:26AM
Could be Musky Space Jews.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Wednesday October 30 2019, @08:43PM (2 children)
They probably doesn't like it when other companies spy on their products/customers. The spying should only be done in-house for the glory of Zuck.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Wednesday October 30 2019, @10:27PM
Now, that's absolutely natural and expected.
Look, say you have a business. How would you like others not only competing with you over market share but fucking with your own product, using your own machines? And, come to that, without paying you a dime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 4, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Thursday October 31 2019, @12:41AM
I think you're close, but not quite there. Facebook expects to be PAID FOR spying on users. Facebook has invested a lot of money to domesticate the sheep, and they expect to share in any profits from shearing the sheep, or for outright slaughter of those sheep. Sheep are valuable commodities, and Facebook does NOT like poachers.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Fluffeh on Wednesday October 30 2019, @08:57PM (13 children)
I'd like to know why these blatant crimes aren't being prosecuted by state actors. The US should care if its citizens are being spied on. Same goes for any other country out there. Pretty sure every single country has anti-hacking laws that have been broken here.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 30 2019, @09:14PM (8 children)
I'd like to know why these blatant crimes aren't being prosecuted by state actors.
1) Maybe they are being perpetrated by state actors, and/or
2) Professional courtesy
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Wednesday October 30 2019, @09:37PM (7 children)
NSO Group is a spawnling of Unit 8200. That's no secret, but a two-clicks-verifiable fact.
The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
(Score: 1, Disagree) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 30 2019, @10:14PM (6 children)
Nothing is verifiable. On today's internet, even simple arithmetic is a disputed conspiracy theory.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday October 31 2019, @06:12AM (5 children)
When it comes to simple internet arithmetic, only the alt-right doesn't add up.
First, they are divided to the point of self-inconsistency.
Then, they get even the multiplication wrong, which is not odd at all. Letting aside the ignorable truncation errors like Anglin and Yeahnahprickouless failures, just look at Bannon failing to recruit European loons; I don't want to sound like a depreciation, but one could say his efforts generate so little traction that one may call it sub-traction. Better write off all that.
for more information, consult aristarchus' submissions
Now, alt-right aside, the reminder of the internet seems pretty sane. Arithmetic-wise, that is.
(large grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday October 31 2019, @05:48PM (4 children)
When it comes to simple internet arithmetic, only the alt-right doesn't add up.
Neither do democrats and republicans, but they win. The problem isn't the organizations themselves, it's the credibility given to them by the audience.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @09:16PM (3 children)
True, they add down, at the bottom line. And the result is a negative for the society.
Is this a problem? Why and for who?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 01 2019, @12:40AM (2 children)
Is this a problem? Why and for who?
When the majority chooses to believe in false gods and worship golden calves, it complicates things for those who know better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 01 2019, @09:31AM (1 child)
Good. Because those who know better are delusional and I don't want to live the hell paved with their good intentions.
Don't get me wrong, I know we'll all live the hell no matter what; it's just from pragmatic reason, paving it with good intentions is such a waste of resources.
(large grin)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 01 2019, @02:12PM
I know we'll all live the hell no matter what
So, don't even try, eh? Sorry, I'm one of those people that at least want a comfortable ride, a Bentley, not a beater, and on pavement, not a donkey trail.
(Score: 1) by Sally_G on Thursday October 31 2019, @03:42AM (1 child)
When one state actor prosecutes another state actor, isn't that called a war?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday October 31 2019, @05:52PM
A very famous movie was written around that theme:
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Funny) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Thursday October 31 2019, @04:23PM (1 child)
Israel is trying to take over the united states and europe by first taking over their networks, and this is part of their attack on the immune system as all forms of functioning civil society in the united states are obstacles to their plans.
When a foreign country is attacking your journalists, they arent your allies.
At this point I am really grasping at straws how any actual people paid to defend the united states get up in the morning or fall asleep at night. Did some memo go out 'we are letting israelis do whatever they want, we're moving all of our brainwork out of country because americans are too stupid to defend ourselves.'
Oh yeah, and epstein, leave that guy alone, real nice guy.
It is a sad world to live in having to hear so much propaganda on how great the military and how israel is our ally, etc etc etc, then this shit.
Fustareich and another several sn posters think it is best of all possible worlds, just par for the course, dont worry your pretty head. Gosh they sure do seem supercommitted to that narrative.
But to me it looks like a power grab and they are committing to it, because they will never have a more pliable commander in chief. It looks like they are setting up another 911, silly shark stories on CNN, huge scandals that wont go away to the point they can hardly make up enough shaggy dog 1001 arabian nights stories to distract from it.
thesesystemsarefaling.net
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday October 31 2019, @05:54PM
:-) Well, good morning to you too! You're in top form today...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 30 2019, @09:46PM (1 child)
This is yet another reason why I have as few apps on my phone as possible.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @02:07AM
Then you have nothing to worry about, as long as your phone's operating system isn't Android or IOS.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday October 30 2019, @11:19PM (2 children)
Actor A does something, Actor B figures out how to get around it. Actor A fixes the workaround, Actor B finds another workaround.
As long as neither Actor is using plutonium tipped umbrellas, isn't this the way things are supposed to work?
Relationship status: Available for curbside pickup.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday October 30 2019, @11:57PM (1 child)
Yes, possibly. But Facebook has just deleted NSO employees Facebook accounts for breaching Facebook's terms of service (or whatever).
So the NSO people are discovering that there might be consequences for poor behavior. But od course they whining about it as if they're somehow the good guys being treated badly.
Maybe they should have another think about work they work for.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 31 2019, @01:56AM
*shudders* - Oy, vey! The horror... like a diamond bullet! Even harsh language and shotguns (for close encounters) are milder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @12:15AM
A day after Facebook-owned WhatsApp sued NSO Group, the social media platform has permanently deleted the accounts of employees who work at the Israel-based spyware maker, according to message boards and a security researcher who spoke to one worker. "Your account has been deleted for not following our terms," said a message sent to one employee by Facebook-owned Instagram. "You won't be able to log into this account, and no one else will be able to see it. We're unable to restore accounts that are deleted for these types of violations."
Seems like a good move for focusing folks who don't like a do what you want monopoly?
(Score: 4, Informative) by jasassin on Thursday October 31 2019, @01:36AM (6 children)
There's a difference between logging into Facebook and sharing your information voluntarily and some Israeli douchebags hacking you without your knowledge and reading your private emails and Lord knows what else.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0x663EB663D1E7F223
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 31 2019, @02:23AM (3 children)
And then again, it could be worse. Much worse. Think Saudi douchebags hacking you with your full knowledge (well, for a brief while, at least).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Thursday October 31 2019, @02:38AM
Too soon, man, too soon.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Sally_G on Thursday October 31 2019, @03:24AM (1 child)
Boys, and their humor. QOTD at bottom of page?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 31 2019, @04:00AM
I'm no longer a boy, just immature at an old age.
And that's not humor, just a Halloween-themed comment.
Everything else you said is spot on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2, Informative) by Sally_G on Thursday October 31 2019, @03:48AM
Ideally, you would log in to Facebook, and share one thing with your daughter, another with your son, and something entirely different with your spouse, and yet something else with all friends and acquantances - and all of that would remain private between private individuals. Only the public post would be accessible to Facebook, and all the world. I hope that we haven't forgotten that Facebook has often altered their terms of use and privacy agreements. Not to mention, the user interface, to "hide" those privacy settings. Today's "defaults" are not the same defaults when Facebook was new.
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Thursday October 31 2019, @04:29PM
They are selling this to the highest bidder also, and then once anyone has it its traded around, until it is just on the darknet in a hundred places.
I no longer trust anything out of israel, words, software, hardware, people, it is the only way to react to the evidence.
Now if we could get NCR to stop processing all transactions in europe and the united states in israel, i would feel a lot better.
Basically these are acts of war and anyone who actually had any respect for their allies they wouldnt even consider this, but they clearly thought they are so much better than us they could just get away with it.
I am pretty sure everyone on SN knows by now I think israel is a cancer to technology, human rights, reason and other things. But Im pissed at the betrayal so Im repeating myself for effect and as a demonstration.
I was not born hating israel, it is my only way to adapt to the evidence. This is a bed they made for themselves by being awful.