CARTOON: THE RAT IN YOUR POCKET -- From Privacy To Piracy Wherever You Go
When it comes to your digital life, your 4th and 5th amendment rights to protection from illegal search and seizure and the right to open due process are gone.
“Arguing that you don't care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”
— Edward Snowden
Cartoon by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
At the very least, try to leave scattered crumbs instead of plump loaves of personal data behind in your online wandering.
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink (12/6/24)
New Yorker investigative reporter Ronan Farrow is the journalist who blew the lid off the Harvey Weinstein sexplotation scandal, which then led to an ongoing series of stories and investigations of sex abuse and trafficking leading up to the Israeli Mossad-connected Jeffrey Epstein nightmare.
During the work on the Weinstein project, Farrow was targeted by online surveillance. Since then he has become aware of — and targeted by — more advanced and intrusive surveillance campaigns, which has led to an HBO investigative documentary “Surveilled”.
Many of these programs — like Pegasus — originate in Israel with various degrees of conniving, collaboration and sharing between Mossad, CIA and a foul sludge pot of private and governmental entities.
Over a decade ago we learned through the Wikileaks reporting of courageous investigative journalist Julian Assange that — in clear violation of our constitutional rights —- state spy agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency (NSA) literally hoovers up every phone call we make, every email we receive, social media post we like, our medical records, geolocation from minute to minute and the most intimate nuggets of our lives shared online.
Literally, there is no privacy. None. When it comes to your digital life, your 4th and 5th amendment rights to protection from illegal search and seizure and the right to open due process are gone. They are done.
They can kill or maim your kid
As we have also seen with the US/Isr*eli Z^on^st terror campaign in Lebanon, not only can our cell phones be turned on to record us, but they — and pagers —can be weaponized and used to kill and maim us, or a child in our home who may be near the device.
Due process in a Court of law? Screw that, they can kill you at will, and get away with it.
It’s amazing — but not shocking — how the corporate media has let that story fade with no follow-up investigations or holding anyone accountable, or exploring steps one might take to reduce risk. I mean, really, how the hell were Isr*eli government terrorists able to infect that manufacturing stream?
Are our phones safe? Until proven otherwise, I assume, no, they aren’t. And even then…
So, what to do?
In the second interview below Farrow readily admits counter measures in an every-shifting software dystopia are few, but there are some things one can do to — for now — interfere or temporarily disrupt the techno rat in your pocket.
As someone who occasionally guides me through computer problems knows, I am no expert on any of this. I have been thinking a lot of what one can do to at least reduce the size and frequency of their digital presence and I pay attention to what has been suggested.
At the very least, try to leave scattered crumbs instead of plump loaves of personal data behind in your online wandering.
Here are a few things I have heard and been doing on my own to — perhaps — reduce some exposure.
In the second video Ronan Farrow suggests rebooting your phone daily, though he admits he’s not sure how effective it can be and that the phone can easily be reinfected.
I avoid using apps. I simply don’t understand people adding multiple apps for everything from McDonalds to banking. Every single app needs to be viewed for what it is: A wide open door and spotlight into your digital life.
My insurance and healthcare companies want me to do online check-ins for appointments and payments. I won’t do any of that. I’d sooner arrive 15 minutes early to answer questions or fill out forms or drive across town to my insurance agent’s office.
I rarely use my credit card and am now paying cash as much as possible. Given the dictatorial control a digital dollar would grant the government and intel powers over our lives, preemptive use of cash may slow that process. Every time you use a credit card it is a meek nod of acceptance to the fascist state that a digital dollar is acceptable. Remember what happened to the Canadian trucker COVID mandate protesters.
Buy a home paper shredder. No paper with any personal information leaves my home intact. Get a two-way shredder that not only shreds papers to ribbons, but also cross cuts the ribbons into separate bits of confetti.
Weed out and destroy old documents or papers you have in your home or office.
About five years ago I went to a meeting with an oil pipeline protester who had been arrested for chaining themself to a valve wheel. When I approached the room there was someone there with a box asking people to leave their phones outside the meeting to prevent police monitoring of the meeting. I remember feeling a little shocked, and naive that I should have been shocked by such a possibility and wise step. The same thing needs to happen now if you are having a sensitive conversation with a friend or political group. Smart (spy) watches also need to be included. I know this sounds paranoid, but as Farrow notes, your phone camera and microphone can be turned on without your knowing it.
Faraday bags are supposed to block unwanted intrusion of your devices and I bought a set of three, but have to say, I’m not convinced they work, though I also admit I haven’t taken the time to test them out completely.
Sorry I don’t have more to offer. Feel free to add comments or suggestions. Check out the interviews below, which include the trailer for the movie “Surveilled.” Be careful with your data because we already live in an intrusive fascist surveillance state that after January 20th will ramp up.
Just To Review
Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
THE SPY IN YOUR POCKET: Ronan Farrow Exposes Secrets of High-Tech Spyware in New HBO Film "Surveilled"
“People have to start realizing that their phones are now public spaces in so many ways, even if you’re just a person using your phone in a run-of-the-mill way and you don’t think you are in one of these vulnerable categories. Anyone with the resources can hack your phone if they want to.”
Democracy Now! (11/5/24)
We look at the world of high-tech surveillance with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow and filmmaker Matthew O'Neill. Their new HBO documentary Surveilled is now available for streaming.
Farrow says he became interested in the topic after he was tracked by the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube during his reporting on Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse. Although Black Cube used a "relatively low-tech approach," Farrow says the experience started him on a path to investigate more sophisticated methods of surveillance, including the powerful spyware Pegasus, which has been used against journalists and dissidents around the world.
As part of the reporting for the documentary, Farrow traveled to Israel for a rare interview with a former employee of NSO Group, the Israeli software company that makes Pegasus. He warns that it's not just "repressive governments" that abuse Pegasus and other surveillance technology, but also a growing number of democratic states like Greece, Poland and Spain. U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies under both the Biden and Trump administrations have also considered such spyware, although the extent to which these tools have been used is not fully known.
This is an excellent book on the origins, scope and totalitarian use of the Israeli company NSO Group’s Pegasus surveillance program by governments around the world. It is used widely in the United States. Pegasus was on the phone of the girlfriend of murdered American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. — Mark Taylor
Surveillance technology has historically always been abused. Now the technology is more advanced and more frightening than ever, and more available than ever, so abuse is more possible," says Farrow.
Conversation With Israeli NSO Group Whistleblower…
“What should the average citizen in any country in the world know about this company and this technology?”
“It’s very powerful. It’s very intrusive.”
“Should people be concerned?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
25-minute video
"Surveilled": Ronan Farrow On The Spyware Technology Trump Admin Could Use To Hack Your Phone
These surveillance technologies are often tested out on monitoring and controlling Palestinians and used to enforce Israel's occupation of Palestine.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: While certainly the Trump administration will ramp up the surveillance of anyone who so much as has a negative thought about their fascist agenda, make no mistake, Biden and Obama willingly let the unconstitutional surveillance, monitoring, hacking and intimidation of citizens to proceed. Already this post is logged and recorded, every phone call you make is recorded, every website you visit is known. Our 4th and 5th amendment rights were long ago trampled in the mud of totalitarian capitalism. Farrow details a few steps one can take that may provide some limited measure of personal security. — M. Taylor]
Democracy Now! (12/6/24)
We discuss the new HBO Original film Surveilled and explore the film's investigation of high-tech spyware firms with journalist Ronan Farrow and director Matthew O'Neill.
We focus on the influence of the Israeli military in the development of some of the most widely used versions of these surveillance technologies, which in many cases are first tested on Palestinians and used to enforce Israel's occupation of Palestine, and on the potential expansion of domestic U.S. surveillance under a second Trump administration.
Ever-increasing surveillance is "dangerous for democracy," says Farrow. "We're making and selling a weapon that is largely unregulated." As O'Neill emphasizes, "We could all be caught up."
16-minute video
Google “Adjusts” Your Terms Of Service Protections To Meet Israeli Military Tech Company Demands
A previously undisclosed email and new documents show the Project Nimbus deal isn’t covered by Google’s general terms of service.
Tech workers from Google, Meta, and Amazon protest against Big Tech supplying Israel with intelligence tools outside Google offices in New York City on April 16, 2024. Photo: Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa USA via AP
By Sam Biddle
The Intercept (12/2/24)
When questioned about its controversial cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, Google has repeatedly claimed the so-called Project Nimbus deal is bound by the company’s general cloud computing terms of service policy.
While that policy would prohibit uses that lead to deprivation of rights, injury, or death, or other harms, contract documents and an internal company email reviewed by The Intercept show the deal forged between Google and Israel doesn’t operate under the tech company’s general terms of service. Rather, Nimbus is subject to an “adjusted” policy drafted between Google and the Israeli government. It is unclear how this “Adjusted Terms of Service” policy differs from Google’s typical terms.
Google Cloud’s terms of service prohibit, among other things, uses that “violate, or encourage the violation of, the legal rights of others,” any “invasive” purpose, or anything “that can cause death, serious harm, or injury to individuals or groups of individuals.”
The $1.2 billion joint contract split between Google and Amazon provides the Israeli government, including its military, with access to state-of-the-art cloud computing and artificial intelligence tools. This has made Project Nimbus a consistent source of protest inside and outside Google, even before Israel’s war on Gaza.
While Amazon has largely remained silent in the face of employee activism and outside scrutiny, Google routinely downplays or denies the military reach of Project Nimbus — despite the Israeli Finance Ministry’s 2021 announcement that the deal would service the country’s “defense establishment.” …
INFILTRATED: How Israeli Intelligence Has Corrupted American Media Coverage Of US/Israel Gaza
Israeli ex-spooks are working hard at top U.S. media outlets to manufacture Western support and complicity for Israel's actions and genocidal war crimes.
Caitlin Johnstone just gave one of the best summaries of the world as it is, using the killing of the health insurance ghoul as a starting point. Really, this is the world. Push back in whatever way possible...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_w_kQ8V3Vk
It's so ubiquitous that it is pretty impossible to avoid it. Like you, I'm not into apps -- the fewer the better. I believe the answer lies in sustained mass protest. Yet, most people will simply shrug and do nothing. I think it's important to keep talking about it whether people choose to listen or not.