• Is iOS as insecure as "the Torture Journal" reports?

    From =?UTF-8?Q?Niocl=C3=A1i=C5=BF=C3=ADn_C=C3=B3il=C3=ADn_de_=C4=A0lo?==?UTF-8?Q?=C5=BFt=C3=A9ir?=@Master_Fontaine_is_dishonest@Strand_in_London.Gov.UK to comp.lang.ada on Tue Jan 7 17:14:56 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.lang.ada

    This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text,
    while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools.

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    Adaists, Happy New Year!

    "A well-known case of surveillance software
    usage is that of Pegasus21, the programme that
    came to light when R3D, a Mexican human
    rights organisation protecting freedom of expression
    discovered its systematic use by the
    government to spy on journalists and activists
    who were later targeted, some of them suffering
    threats, defamation, kidnapping or torture
    (R3D, 2017). The software consists of malware
    that infects Apple iPhones through a WhatsApp
    message or a failed phone call. The attacker
    has access to everything in the victim=E2=80=99s device:
    email, messaging services, camera, and microphone.
    The software is manufactured by the
    Israeli company, NSO Group. On its website22
    the company claims to sell the tool exclusively
    to governments on the condition that it is only
    used =E2=80=9Cto combat terrorists=E2=80=9D and notes that the
    software has saved =E2=80=9Cthousands of lives.=E2=80=9D The
    software is sold also to private companies and
    contractors through reseller companies such as
    Hacking Team. According to R3D, the government
    is billed around 75,000 euros per successfully
    controlled telephone. A report by the Red
    en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (Network
    for the Defense of Digital Rights) evidenced
    that the software was acquired by the Mexican
    Army in 2012 and by the office of the Attorney
    General (PGR) in 2014. An impressive series of
    studies show how the use of Pegasus has been
    an essential element in the murdering of journalists
    and for targeting politicians, lawyers and
    opponents in Mexico.23

    A research center, Citizen Lab24 based at
    the University of Toronto, produces regular
    reports and provides advice against such practices.
    It has detected the use of Pegasus in 45
    countries and other similar software in almost
    all countries25."
    says
    @article{cdominey_+Torture+Volume+30-01_digital_edition_FINAL-5-22.pdf, title=3D{{Internet and communications as elements for CIDT and Torture.=20 Initial reflections in an unexplored field}},
    volume=3D{30}, url=3D{HTTPS://Tidsskrift.Dk/torture-journal/article/view/120593}, DOI=3D{10.7146/torture.v30i1.120593},
    number=3D{1},
    journal=3D{Torture Journal},
    author=3D{P=C3=A9rez-Sales, Pau and Serra, Laia},
    year=3D{2020},=20
    month=3D{May},
    pages=3D{5--22},
    abstractNote=3D{<div=20
    class=3D"page" title=3D"Page 5">= =20
    <div class=3D"section"> <div=20 class=3D"layoutArea"> <div=20 class=3D"column"> <p>The internet wa= s=20
    once seen as a new and definitive window to freedom and a world without=20 torture. There is however, another less obvious but perhaps more notorious=
    =20
    side: torturous environments can also be created through the internet; a=20 place where individu- als may be targeted for discrimination, coer- cion=20
    or control.There is a dearth of academic research and theoretical=20 developments in this very new area of knowledge and this Edito- rial will=
    =20
    review and reflect on various aspects, thereby suggesting possible lines=20
    of research.</p> </div> </div>=20 </div> </div>}
    }

    (I am citing this paper in a draft of a research article for a different=20 reason.)
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  • From Colin Paul de Gloucester@Master_Fontaine_is_dishonest@Strand_in_London.Gov.UK to comp.lang.ada on Fri Mar 7 23:09:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.lang.ada

    I posed a similar question on news:de.comp.security.misc so Stefan Claas
    is asserting that this Apple-iOS insecurity is real, and the way he
    answered does not restrict his answer to Apple iOS. Consult news:vqc075$21ss5$2@paganini.bofh.team
    if interested.
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  • From Kevin Chadwick@kc-usenet@chadwicks.me.uk to comp.lang.ada on Sun May 4 11:06:39 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.lang.ada

    On 07/03/2025 22:09, Colin Paul de Gloucester wrote:
    I posed a similar question on news:de.comp.security.misc so Stefan Claas
    is asserting that this Apple-iOS insecurity is real, and the way he
    answered does not restrict his answer to Apple iOS. Consult >news:vqc075$21ss5$2@paganini.bofh.team
    if interested.

    Considering the frequency of severe bugs found in Androids rendering layers
    written in C then most likely it is though I would guess it's efficacy
    atleast of remote exploitation vs local varies from month to month unless
    they have a constant apple cart (backlog) of unknown exploits.
    --
    Regards, Kc
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  • From =?UTF-8?Q?Niocl=C3=A1is=C3=ADn_C=C3=B3il=C3=ADn_de_Ghlost=C3=A9ir?=@Spamassassin@irrt.De to comp.lang.ada on Mon May 5 01:35:27 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.lang.ada

    Dear Mister Chadwick,

    Thanks for these insights.

    Thy sincerely,
    C. P. G.
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