Darknet Diaries
137: Predator
· Summarized
Key takeaways
- Mercenary spyware like Predator poses significant privacy risks as it infiltrates personal devices and gathers extensive data.
- Tal Dylian represents a new wave of spyware entrepreneurs, who exploit gaps in ethics and legality by selling surveillance tech to authoritarian regimes.
- Investigative journalism plays a vital role in uncovering the dark networks of surveillance and the implications of such technologies.
- The proliferation of spyware raises critical questions about national security versus individual freedoms, with governments often lacking adequate oversight of their surveillance operations.
- Global reactions to spyware practices, including sanctions, reveal ongoing struggles between technological advancements and ethical governance.
Summary
The Rise and Impact of Mercenary Spyware
The episode delves into the emergence of mercenary spyware, particularly focusing on a technology called Predator. This spyware is designed to infiltrate mobile devices and harvest an extensive array of personal data, including contacts, messages, and locations. The discussion surrounding Predator emphasizes the ethical implications of its usage by intelligence agencies globally, highlighting concerns about user privacy and potential governmental abuse.
Taldillion and the Spyware Market
Central to the narrative is Tal Dylian, an Israeli entrepreneur who established himself in the cyber surveillance industry following a military background. His initial ventures included creating surveillance tools for various clients, including intelligence agencies. After selling his previous company, Circles, he launched Intellexa—a company that merged capabilities from multiple other surveillance firms. His business practices raise significant ethical questions as he sells advanced surveillance tools to potentially authoritarian regimes.
The Role of Investigative Journalism
The episode features insights from Crofton Black and investigative teams from organizations like Lighthouse Reports and Citizen Lab, who meticulously tracked Dylian’s activities and uncovered intricate details about his networks and dealings. They addressed how such investigations not only expose the behaviors of surveillance companies but also shed light on the governmental structures permitting these operations to continue.
Legal and Ethical Concerns in Spyware Proliferation
A recurring theme is the legality and moral ramifications of spyware distribution, especially when sold to questionable regimes. As governments utilize these technologies to monitor citizens, the podcast raises essential questions about the balance between national security and individual rights. The ethical landscape becomes even murkier when discussions highlight the potential misuse of spyware against dissidents or journalists.
Global Reactions and Current Affairs
As the discussion unfolds about the implications of spyware use globally, attention is drawn to reactions from various governments. The podcast addresses recent sanctions imposed on companies like Intellexa by the U.S. Commerce Department, underlining the geopolitical tensions and the morality behind state-sanctioned surveillance.
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Show notes
A new type of mercenary spyware came on the radar called Predator. It’ll infect a mobile phone, and then suck up all the data from it. Contacts, text messages, location, and more. This malware is being sold to intelligence agencies around the world.
In this episode we hear from Crofton Black at Lighthouse Reports who spent 6 months with a team of journalists researching this story which was published here: https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/flight-of-the-predator/.
We also hear from Bill Marczak and John Scott-Railton from Citizen Lab.
If you want to hear about other mercenary spyware, check out episodes 99 and 100, about NSO group and Pegasus. To hear another episode about Greece check out episode 64 called Athens Shadow Games.
Sponsors
Support for this show comes from Axonius. The Axonius solution correlates asset data from your existing IT and security solutions to provide an always up-to-date inventory of all devices, users, cloud instances, and SaaS apps, so you can easily identify coverage gaps and automate response actions. Axonius gives IT and security teams the confidence to control complexity by mitigating threats, navigating risk, decreasing incidents, and informing business-level strategy — all while eliminating manual, repetitive tasks. Visit axonius.com/darknet to learn more and try it free.
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Support for this show comes from Akamai Connected Cloud (formerly Linode). Akamai Connected Cloud supplies you with virtual servers. Visit linode.com/darknet and get a special offer.
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