Poland’s Pegasus snooping likely ‘tip of the iceberg’ – expert
Warsaw’s use of the controversial Israeli spyware on three government critics is probably just the start, according to one researcher
A cyber expert at security watchdog Citizen Lab has said there are probably more discoveries to come following the allegations that Poland’s government spied on three of its fiercest critics.
Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Canada-based cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab said that Poland’s use of the Pegasus spyware “looks very bad.”
The Israeli spyware came to light in July following an investigation led by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based media non-profit, in collaboration with Amnesty International and 17 media organizations.
Some 50,000 phones had been illegally accessed using the malware, made by the NSO Group. Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were among the 11 countries in which potential clients were identified.
Scott-Railton believes the allegations that the Pegasus spyware was used against three Polish government opponents are just the “tip of the iceberg,” and that there is much more to come.
In a scandal dubbed by local media as “Polish Watergate,” it is alleged that the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spied on Krzysztof Brejza, a member of the Civic Platform party, who coordinated its 2019 election campaign; and Roman Giertych, a lawyer involved in cases against the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
It is also alleged that prosecutor and opposition figure Ewa Wrzosek was snooped upon. The allegations were made by Citizen Lab.
“Pegasus is a tool of dictators. Its use in these cases point to an authoritarian slide,” Scott-Railton added.
The Israeli software, which was found on the smartphones of the three individuals, grants the user the ability to read messages, look through photos, track the target’s location, and even switch on the camera without the knowledge of the phone’s owner.
2021 Year in Review: Climate action, or blah, blah, blah?
This year saw another steady stream of UN-backed reports reinforcing a stark message: man-made climate change is an urgent and even existential threat to life on Earth. Will the international community’s efforts to tackle the crisis, as seen at the COP26 UN Climate Conference, result in meaningful action?
Pandemic-rela
Pandemic-related travel restrictions may have put a dent on international migration figures in 2021, but the number of people forced to leave their homes, due to conflict and persecution, rose to record highs.
Read the full story, “2021 Year in Review: Refugee, migrant numbers rise, despite travel curbsâ€, on globalissues.org →find more fun & mates at SoShow now !
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Hong Kong police close pro-democracy outlet Stand News
In Hong Kong, authorities from the police’s national security department arrested half a dozen senior staff members, confiscated boxes and closed one of the last pro-democracy outlets, Stand News.
Covid vaccine developer gets lobbyist with Biden connection
A close relative of a senior White House official revealed to be a lobbyist for a coronavirus vaccine developer
Jeff Ricchetti, brother of White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, has registered to lobby for a company behind a Covid-19 vaccine that is approved only in Taiwan, a new report has revealed.
The connection between Ricchetti and the Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation was laid bare in a disclosure report first revealed by CNBC on Wednesday.
Ricchetti filed to lobby for the company earlier this month. His job will be focused on “issues related to Covid-19 vaccines accepted for foreign travelers to the United States.”
Ricchetti has lobbied the White House on behalf of other companies based in the healthcare industry before. Earlier this year, he also filed to work with Amazon on issues related to the delivery of Covid-19 vaccine shipments.
Responding to allegations of a possible conflict of interest, Ricchetti dismissed the claim, saying he had not mentioned his brother in talks with his partners or US officials, nor had he lobbied his close relative directly.
“I do not lobby my brother and I have not even mentioned to him the names of clients that I currently represent,” he told CNBC in April. “For the better part of the last thirty years I have lobbied members of Congress and their staff, and various individuals who have served in the successive administrations. It is what I do for a living.”
Medigen’s Covid vaccine is only approved for distribution in Taiwan. Ricchetti is currently the sole lobbyist for the company.
Ricchetti Inc. was founded by both brothers, though Steve Ricchetti has not been a registered lobbyist for years and stepped away from the company in 2012. He went on to work in Barack Obama’s administration, in which President Joe Biden then served as vice president.
The firm reportedly nearly quadrupled their earnings in the first three quarters of this year over the same period last year.
