Pegasus: NSO Group’s Insidious Spyware

Note: This article was first published at the World Ethical Data Forum. Pegasus is advanced spyware that was first discovered in August 2016, developed by NSO Group based in Israel, and sold to various clients around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, India, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Mexico among probably other… Continue reading Pegasus: NSO Group’s Insidious Spyware

Why I won’t recommend Signal anymore

Note: This article is also available in Portuguese, translated by Anders Bateva. One of the things I do is cryptography and infosec training for investigative journalists who have a need to keep either their sources and communications confidential so they can more safely do their work in the public interest. Often they work in places… Continue reading Why I won’t recommend Signal anymore

Dutch Data Retention Law Struck Down

Good news on privacy protection for once: after an 11 March 2015 ruling of the Court of The Hague in the Netherlands in the case of the Privacy First Foundation c.s. versus The Netherlands, the court decided to strike down the Dutch data retention law. The law required telecommunication providers and ISPs to store communication… Continue reading Dutch Data Retention Law Struck Down

Talk at Logan Symposium 2014, London

A few weeks ago, I was in London at the Logan Symposium 2014, which was held at the Barbican Centre in London from 5 to 7 December 2014. During this event, I gave a talk entitled: “Security Dilemmas in Publishing Leaks.” (slides, PDF) The event was organised by the Centre for Investigative Journalism in London.… Continue reading Talk at Logan Symposium 2014, London

Regin: The Trojan Horse From GCHQ

In 2010, Belgacom, the Belgian telecommunications company was hacked. This attack was discovered in September 2013, and has been going on for years. We know that this attack is the work of Western intelligence, more specifically, GCHQ, thanks to documents from Edward Snowden. This operation was called Operation Socialist. Now, however, we know a little… Continue reading Regin: The Trojan Horse From GCHQ

Dutch Intelligence Agencies AIVD/MIVD go TEMPORA

On November 21, 2014, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Relations within the Realm (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties), sent a message to Parliament about the — in their view — necessary changes that need to be made to the Wet op de inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten (Wiv) 2002 (Intelligence and Security Act 2002). The… Continue reading Dutch Intelligence Agencies AIVD/MIVD go TEMPORA

The Age of the Gait-Recognising Cameras Is Here!

A few days ago I read an article (NRC, Dutch, published 11 September, interestingly) about how TNO (the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, the largest research institute in the Netherlands) developed technology (PDF) for smart cameras for use at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. These cameras were installed at Schiphol airport by the Qubit Visual Intelligence,… Continue reading The Age of the Gait-Recognising Cameras Is Here!

Country X: The Country That Shall Not Be Named

On Monday, 19 May 2014, Glenn Greenwald published his report entitled Data Pirates of the Caribbean: The NSA is recording every cell call in the Bahamas, in which he reported about the NSA SOMALGET program, which is part of the larger MYSTIC program. MYSTIC has been used to intercept the communications of several countries, namely… Continue reading Country X: The Country That Shall Not Be Named

Gave Privacy By Design Talk At eth0

I gave my talk about privacy by design last Saturday at eth0 2014 winter edition, a small hacker get-together which was organised in Lievelde, The Netherlands this year. eth0 organizes conferences that aim at bringing people with different computer-related interests together. They organise two events per year, one during winter. I’ve previously given a very… Continue reading Gave Privacy By Design Talk At eth0