John Scott-Railton ☕

Chasing online badness. Senior Researcher at Citizen Lab. Views mine.

Also, I like tracking stuck boats.

Public Key

npub18r8efsp3d9r79v42huwlyjstzr3y92s99zyfur2q2utnqpyzsrcqce9j7t

NIP-05 Address

jsrailton_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsr3nu5cqckj3lzk24t780jfg93pcjz4gzj3zy7p4q9w9esqjpgpuqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qzqzzpl

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub18r8efsp3d9r79v42huwlyjstzr3y92s99zyfur2q2utnqpyzsrcqce9j7t

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Last Notes

2024-07-25 18:34:57

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2/
As always, it it is important to be aware of the origin of the leaked material, which appears to be a hack-and-leak operation. More detail on that is here:
https://forbiddenstories.org/actualites_posts/israel-maneuvered-to-prevent-disclosure-of-state-secrets-amid-whatsapp-vs-nso-lawsuit/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/848/567/964/332/333/original/0aa1aa39ee8a047e.png

2024-07-02 14:46:02

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@npub1lr8…q6n7 Deep cut :)

2024-06-21 11:57:11

NEW: Polish prosecutors seize #Pegasus equipment used by past gov.
Win for transparency in 🇵🇱#Poland.
Nightmare for NSO Group.
Story [PL]: https://tvn24.pl/polska/prokuratorzy-zabezpieczyli-urzadzenia-systemu-pegasus-st7973218
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2024-06-18 18:45:42

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@npub1wuy…n7vs Good point, I'll tweak it :)

2024-06-18 16:53:41

Being so universally notorious that even scammers know about your spyware.
#pegasus #spyware #cybersecurity #infosec #malware
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/638/663/367/927/261/original/6a6b42cb6810a06e.png

2024-06-01 12:55:24

VIDEO: Satellites used to cancel community church's insurance policy.
Remember: data flows with surveillance potential ...will inevitably be mined for automated profit-maximizing.
Injustices, disparities & harms will follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f025SKlIdNg
#privacy #surveillance #satellite #insurance #cybersecurity #infosec

2024-05-27 18:19:47

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@npub1mnv…3992 Good tip. I almost thought to add: I've found MIT Open CourseWare helpful. But also struggled with the fact that a lot of the topical courses are from like 200X-201X
Which for some topics makes them dated:(

2024-05-27 18:06:12

Where can I find *current* advanced university lectures / lecture series on arbitrary scientific and technical topics?
I'm finding these are really hard to surface on #YouTube.
#education #university #continuingeducation

2024-05-27 09:59:02

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This ex-CIA PRC spy basically lived his 50s in a constructed universe, thinking he was unobserved.
Like the Robert Hanssen story on steroids.
I want to watch this movie.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-cia-officer-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-commit-espionage-0
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/512/462/407/220/264/original/bda2792560ae086f.png

2024-05-27 09:58:10

So... the #FBI ran a Truman Show on this 🇨🇳spy for 8 years?
Wild.
#espionage #surveillance #china #spy #investigation #counterintelligence #intelligence #CIA #China
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/512/459/408/880/890/original/0d7307fa1815d50f.png

2024-05-26 10:10:13

Your ignorance is their power.

2024-05-23 21:23:35

Regular user: I want to feel safe and private.
Google: cool, anyways here's an AI that listens to your calls.
Microsoft: word, how about an AI that takes screenshots of everything you do?
#Google #AI #Microsoft #privacy #security #safety #cybersecurity #infosec

2024-05-21 18:50:50

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@npub1p53…a6tq That's funny and almost certainly true.

2024-05-16 20:23:29

Even for cancer and transplant patients.
#cancer #transplantation #immunocompromised #health #healthcare #masks #northcarolina
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/452/628/809/181/892/original/2a26b0c079e60955.png

2024-05-09 21:20:30

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@npub1new…kx9u Interesting, thanks for sharing your perspective.

2024-05-07 12:01:00

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UPDATE: Movement!
Watching ship tracking live it appears the hardworking #Turkish tugs freed bulk carrier #Alexis & the party is now heading South as some of the Tugs break off.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/399/693/958/185/782/original/1d8ab23c0cc2e2e8.png
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2024-04-23 19:30:37

AI-drafted police reports will absolutely result in mistakes enshrined as facts.
This will permanently impact peoples' lives & freedom.
Story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/04/23/axon-ai-police-reports-/?sh=7bdefd5b476b
#AI #artificialintelligence
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2024-04-09 10:39:42

The fact that all the morning people woke up before us and held a meeting where they decided to make the world early-riser biased is a great injustice.

2024-03-18 22:52:03

Trump: "are you better than 4 years ago?"
Meanwhile, four years ago...
#trump #usa #elections2024 #GOP #COVID #COVID19
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2024-03-12 23:17:40

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While tonight's attack on #Navalny's isn't investigated yet..
#Russia constantly probes what they can get away with in other countries. Up to murder.
Whoever did it, the #Kremlin will surely study other countries' /EU response for signs of what evils they can do in future.
#Putin

2024-03-12 23:17:11

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Countries like #Lithuania are a (relative) safe haven for Russian dissidents to continue work.
Tonight's brutal assault threatens to chill this sense of protection.
It must be quickly, comprehensively & transparently investigated by competent authorities.

2024-03-12 23:11:20

NOW: #Navalny 's Chief of Staff just attacked.
Assailant smashed Leonid Volkov's car window, sprayed him with an irritant like CS spray & beat him with hammer.
Occurred at his home in #Lithuania this evening.
He was transported by ambulance to hospital.
#Russia #putin #navalny
Developing story: https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/03/12/navalny-associate-leonid-volkov-reportedly-attacked-outside-his-home

2024-03-04 19:21:25

Reflecting on the freaky new attack surface opened on Twitter / X apps with the introduction of peer-to-peer calling.
Which is enabled by default for all users.
Oh, and there's the privacy problem of exposing IP addresses.
And spam.
Add in the compounding factor of a gutted security team and you have a recipe for a mess.
#infosec #encryption #cybersecurity #privacy #spyware #malware #twitter #elonmusk
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2024-02-16 02:27:57

The Tucker Carlson grocery price video (Russia is so cheap you'll be radicalized, folks!) is tragic & funny.
My guy, the grocery bill you're rhapsodizing about is ~SEVENTY PERCENT of a median Russian weekly salary (13.4k RUB)
#Fox #Putin #tuckercarlson #Russia #inflation
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/938/788/264/726/461/original/236b05c8ed210ca8.png
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2023-09-13 14:57:17

NEW INVESTIGATION: Prominent #Putin's critic in exile hacked with #Pegasus #spyware in #Berlin.
#europe has a massive spyware problem.
Yet many #EU countries have sat on the sidelines.
Still, hacks keep coming, harming EU #cybersecurity #humanrights & #nationalsecurity
Worse yet, #Germany thinks it can simultaneously be a Pegasus customer & not contribute to the problem.
Embarrassing.
We @npub1h66…0ec3 did tech analysis in investigation led by Access Now https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/13/pegasus-infection-meduza-founder/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/058/405/405/684/464/original/8c3f3ffb1a9dc929.png
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2023-09-08 02:30:04

Elon Musk sees #Ukranian military secrets via #starlink movements.
Russia must've realized this & bamboozled him w/ fav old trick: nuclear threats.
So Musk intervened to stop an attack🤦
What stops 🇷🇺 from manipulating / flattering Musk into revealing what he knows about #ukraine 1/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/027/169/049/350/688/original/f5cf8acb2bbb9fed.png
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2023-09-07 20:31:25

🚨 Update your #apple
products immediately!
Last week we @npub1h66…0ec3 discovered a new #Pegasus zero-click exploit chain.
(No clicking required to infect latest iOS with #spyware
Found while checking civil society.
Disclosed to Apple which rushed a patch.
Takeway? Yet again scrappy civil society = the #cybersecurity early warning system for billions of users.
https://citizenlab.ca/2023/09/blastpass-nso-group-iphone-zero-click-zero-day-exploit-captured-in-the-wild/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/025/753/261/117/544/original/5491fc7efa61630d.png

2023-08-25 23:02:13

Normal tweet by a polling company.
#Trump #mugshot #poll #elections #indictment
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/952/742/927/740/233/original/a9165feb9f9d1f65.png

2023-08-22 15:38:15

The UK wants the ability to stop companies from patching vulnerabilities.
Catastrophically shortsighted.
Any tech product that stays will be suspect in the global marketplace.
The tech sector will flee.
Goodbye tech investment & jobs.
Hello #techsit
https://www.justsecurity.org/87615/changes-to-uk-surveillance-regime-may-violate-international-law/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/934/007/993/909/637/original/65f7e283b311c716.png

2023-08-22 13:29:19

STUDY: exodus of experts from #Twitter/ #Xitter
More than half of responding scientists cut back or left.
Result: crucial conversations fragmenting, communities dissolving.
Notable, a lot of #mastodon account opening.
Would be interesting to see usage patterns.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02554-0
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/933/493/992/885/902/original/4ae458ff530b2289.png
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2023-08-09 16:32:41

NEW RESEARCH: most popular Chinese keyboard app (450 million monthly users!) transmits every key typed to #Tencent.
.
My @npub1h66…0ec3 colleagues found vulnerable encryption means the uploaded keystrokes could *also* be intercepted by 3rd parties.
We did responsible disclosure.
The vulnerable encryption that could expose transmitted typing to third parties = fixed.
Sogou Keyboard users should update!
But they should also remain aware that everything you type still goes to the developer.

2023-08-09 12:59:38

Panic about cheating gave us a cottage industry of spying on kids through webcams.
Which probably isn't going away.
Now, fresh research on a big body of test takers suggests concerns were overwrought.
#surveillance #pedagogy #education
By Jason Chan & Dahwi Ahn
Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2302020120
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2023-08-08 20:58:06

NEW: researchers keep finding we cannot reliably detect speech #deepfakes.
We rely on listening for 'naturalness.'
Problem is, compute power📈& generative models are getting much better at faking just that.
Huge implications for #phishing, #fraud.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285333
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2023-07-01 15:53:45

#elonmusk wants you to think he's space genius guy.
But lately the vibe is decidedly overconfident submarine guy.
#twitter
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2023-06-28 21:55:41

Are we sure #RFKjr is running for President of the USA?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/624/069/286/035/463/original/0a320a9f7a8faf84.png

2023-05-30 19:32:33

Remember Tara Reade?
The one-time #Biden accuser is live on 🇷🇺Russian State TV announcing that she's defected.
Sitting with Maria Butina whom she refers to as a friend.
#Russia #Propaganda #disinformation
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/459/295/117/260/705/original/7df0d83617db4a7b.png
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