A US Company Sold iPhone Hacking Tools To UAE Spies (technologyreview.com) 19
An American cybersecurity company was behind a 2016 iPhone hack sold to a group of mercenaries and used by the United Arab Emirates. From a report: When the United Arab Emirates paid over $1.3 million for a powerful and stealthy iPhone hacking tool in 2016, the monarchy's spies -- and the American mercenary hackers they hired -- put it to immediate use. The tool exploited a flaw in Apple's iMessage app to enable hackers to completely take over a victim's iPhone. It was used against hundreds of targets in a vast campaign of surveillance and espionage whose victims included geopolitical rivals, dissidents, and human rights activists.
Documents filed by the US Justice Department on Tuesday detail how the sale was facilitated by a group of American mercenaries working for Abu Dhabi, without legal permission from Washington to do so. But the case documents do not reveal who sold the powerful iPhone exploit to the Emiratis. Two sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed to MIT Technology Review that the exploit was developed and sold by an American firm named Accuvant. It merged several years ago with another security firm, and what remains is now part of a larger company called Optiv. News of the sale sheds new light on the exploit industry as well as the role played by American companies and mercenaries in the proliferation of powerful hacking capabilities around the world.
Documents filed by the US Justice Department on Tuesday detail how the sale was facilitated by a group of American mercenaries working for Abu Dhabi, without legal permission from Washington to do so. But the case documents do not reveal who sold the powerful iPhone exploit to the Emiratis. Two sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed to MIT Technology Review that the exploit was developed and sold by an American firm named Accuvant. It merged several years ago with another security firm, and what remains is now part of a larger company called Optiv. News of the sale sheds new light on the exploit industry as well as the role played by American companies and mercenaries in the proliferation of powerful hacking capabilities around the world.
Maybe instead of monitoring for CSAM images (Score:3)
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I give up saying, secure your shit. Or don't buy an Apple or Huawei device
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I give up saying, secure your shit. Or don't buy an Apple or Huawei device
Right - Android is perfectly secure. It simply cannot be hacked.
Saying stupid shit is a great way to look stupid.
Can we say (Score:2)
Oliver North?
I knew ya could!
Those damned companies (Score:2)
Don't they have all special Counterintelligence crews that they put on every customer, to see if they can't find a reason NOT to sell their stuff to them?
Preposterous!
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But it's CYBERSECURITY! Now don't you just feel safe?
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Don't they have all special Counterintelligence crews that they put on every customer, to see if they can't find a reason NOT to sell their stuff to them? Preposterous!
Interesting - the summary says the perps were not Identified. The Justice department does though:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr... [justice.gov]
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"Brothership" is dead. (Score:1)
Re: "Brothership" is dead. (Score:1)
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I don't know if any slash poles have considered it, but we did have a slash poll that asked exactly that!
I think it was decided we'd push it if they give a sandwich to CowboyNeal.
Sounds like a ITAR violation. (Score:3)
They clearly knew this was restricted stuff and no doubt it falls under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), so I say throw the book at them Hell, throw the rest of the shelf too because they've earned it. Sink the whole fucking company and then go after every person that made this happen.
Either ITAR means something or it doesn't.
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They clearly knew this was restricted stuff and no doubt it falls under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), so I say throw the book at them Hell, throw the rest of the shelf too because they've earned it. Sink the whole fucking company and then go after every person that made this happen.
Either ITAR means something or it doesn't.
Apparently this is who and what it means: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr... [justice.gov]
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Whoptie-do: a mil & a half used to mean something; these guys could raise it by cracking someone's crypto wallet in a few minutes. Goes back to the whole Red Button thing: a million dollars for lots of activists dead or in a prison somewhere with the key thrown away. Pretty good deal for those they were working for.