New Israeli spyware targets journalists, politicians in 10 countries including UAE: Watchdog

News Network
April 12, 2023

Another Israeli spyware resembling the notorious Pegasus program has been used to target journalists and opposition politicians in 10 countries, according to a Canadian watchdog.

This was revealed by Microsoft and Citizen Lab, which studies the abuse of digital technologies, on Tuesday. 

The spy app has been developed by an Israeli firm called QuaDream which was established by a former Israeli military official. The firm is also linked to veterans who made Pegasus.

At least five people, still unidentified, have been targeted by QuaDream. Both Israeli spy apps have been sold to government agencies in North America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

Citizen Lab identified servers in 10 countries that received data from victims' devices, including Israel, Singapore, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Bulgaria.

The Canadian watchdog said QuaDream has sold its spyware and services to government clients including Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco.

"Victims include journalists, political opposition figures, and an NGO worker," Citizen Lab said, saying it would not identify them at the moment.

The White House said in late March that Pegasus has been used by governments "to facilitate repression and enable human rights abuses."

Some of the countries deploying Pegasus have been accused of deploying it on peaceful domestic opposition.

World leaders, including French President Emanuel Macron, and top politicians and journalists are believed to have been targeted by Pegasus.

Pegasus is Israeli spyware that was designed and developed by Israel's NSO group and is used to break into mobile phones and spy on a large part of personal information including text messages, passwords, locations, and microphone and camera receivers.

The Israeli company marketed this technology as a tool to target its desired targets in the world.

Many European governments have used this controversial software to suppress dissidents, journalists, and political opponents around the world.

In Europe, some cyber detectives have found traces of the use of Pegasus or some other spyware in Poland, Hungary, Spain, and Greece.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 10,2024

kartikbhat1.jpg

Mangaluru: A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in the quiet Bellayuru village on the outskirts of Mangaluru as a man’s life ended on a railway track following an apparent double murder. Authorities from the Mulki police station identified the man as Karthik Bhat, 32, whose lifeless body was discovered on the tracks with his head positioned on the rail, indicating a tragic suicide.

Nearby, police recovered keys to a scooter and a house, which eventually led them to uncover a series of chilling events. Following the trail, officers located Bhat’s scooter parked near Mahammayi Temple. Inside the vehicle, they found documents confirming his identity, including an RC, insurance papers, and his driving license.

Their search continued to Bhat's home in Pakshikere, Kemral village, where they discovered a locked room. With the keys retrieved from the tracks, police unlocked the door, only to be confronted by a horrifying sight. The bodies of Priyanka (28) and her young son Hriday (4) lay in a pool of blood, pointing to a brutal murder that occurred just hours before Bhat’s suicide.

Initial investigations suggest Bhat, beleaguered by ongoing family disputes, committed the murders of his wife and son on the evening of November 8 before tragically ending his own life. A death note found in his diary hinted at his mental state and tragic intentions.

Priyanka’s family, residing in Shivamogga, was informed of the incident. The couple, married for six years, now leaves behind grieving relatives and unanswered questions. Police have initiated formal proceedings, collecting statements from family members as they continue their investigation into the tragic sequence of events.

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