#spyware defense

[pinkrangerv]

bro that is clearly XP not 95

...*twitch*

XP SHALL NOT BE SPOKEN OF. THE NAME OF THE ANCIENT CURSE SHALL NOT BE INVOKED. WE MUST PURGE IT FROM OUR MEMORIES.

[jovialbasementbouquetblr]

2023: PRC Defense Worker Arrested Two Years Ago by MSS as US Spy

《今日说法》 22 Oct CCTV program 迷失境外 on 2021 arrest of suspected US spy in Sichuan. Hou, a PRC defense industry worker, had been a visiting scholar at a US university and was turned by US intelligence officer who asked him to provide information for “his company” — a cover for US intelligence according to a PRC intelligence officer interviewed for the program, USD$600 per report. Hou’s wife and…

[veganism]

The genocide is also experimentation on living beings

Israel is currently testing new weapons in Gaza, some of which will soon be sold globally as "battle-tested," according to Antony Loewenstein, an author who has written a widely acclaimed book on the issue.

For years, the Israeli defense sector has used Palestine as a laboratory for new weapons and surveillance tech, he told Anadolu, adding that this is also the case in the current ongoing war on Gaza.

One of the main reasons why "many nations, democracies and dictatorships support Israeli occupation" of Palestine is because it allows them to buy these "battle-tested" weapons, asserted Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World.

Another aspect of Israel's war on Gaza has been the use of artificial intelligence technology, he said.

According to Loewenstein, AI has been one of the key targeting tools used by the Israeli military in its deadly campaign of airstrikes, leading to mass killings of Palestinians-now over 28,500-and damage on an unprecedented scale.

The current war on Gaza is "inarguably one of the most consequential and bloody," he said.

He described Israel's use of AI against Palestinians as "automated murder," stressing that this model "will be studied and copied by other nation-states" and Tel Aviv will sell them these technologies as tried and tested weapons.

In the last 50 years, Israel has exported hi-tech surveillance tools to at least 130 countries around the world.

To maintain its illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israel has developed a range of tools and technologies that have made it the world's leading exporter of spyware and digital forensics tools.

But analysts say the intelligence failure during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks casts doubts over Tel Avis's technological capabilities.

Israel's reliance on technology "is an illusion of safety, while imprisoning 2.3 million people under endless occupation," said Loewenstein, who is Jewish and holds Australian and German nationalities.

He described Israel's response in Gaza as "apocalyptic," stressing that the killings of Palestinian civilians, including children and women, is "on a scale of indiscriminate slaughter."

- 'BLOOD MONEY'

Loewenstein, who is also a journalist, said Israel has honed its weapons and technology expertise over decades as an occupying power, acting with increasing impunity in the Palestinian territories.

This led a small country like Israel to become one of the top 10 arms dealers in the world, he said, adding that Israeli arms sales in 2021 were "the highest on record, surging 55% over the previous two years to $11.3 billion."

In his book, Loewenstein explores thoroughly Israel's ties with autocracies and regimes engaged in mass displacement campaigns, and governments slinking their way into phones.

The Israeli NSO Group sold its well-known Pegasus software to numerous governments, a spyware tool for phones that gives access to the entire content, including conversations, text messages, emails and photos even when the device is switched off.

Israeli drones were first tested over Gaza, the besieged enclave that Loewenstein referred to as "the perfect laboratory for Israeli ingenuity in domination."

Surveillance technology developed in Israel has also been sold to the US in the form of watch towers now used on the border with Mexico.

The EU's border agency Frontex is known to have used Israeli drone technology to monitor refugees.

Loewenstein explains in his book that the EU has partnered with leading Israeli defense companies to use its drones, "and of course years of experience in Palestine is a key selling point."

"So again, one sees how there are so many examples of nations that are wanting to copy what Israel is doing in their own area in their own country on their own border," he said.

These technologies and "are sold by Israel as battle-tested," he said.

In other words, he contends that Palestinians essentially have become "guinea pigs," and despite some nations and the UN publicly criticizing the Israeli occupation, in reality "they're desperate for this technology for themselves for their own countries."

"And that's how in fact, the Palestine laboratory has been so successful for Israel for so long," he said.

In his exhaustive probe into Israel's dealings with arms sales around the world, he noted that the country has monetized the occupation of Palestine, by selling weapons, spyware tools and technologies to repressive regimes such as Rwanda during the genocide in 1994 and to Myanmar during its genocide against the Muslim Rohingya people in 2017.

"This to me is blood money. I mean, there's no other way to see that and again, as someone Jewish, who has spent many, many years reporting on this conflict, both within Israel and Palestine but also elsewhere, it's deeply shameful that Israel is making huge amounts of money from the misery of others," he said.

"This is not a legacy that I can be proud of."

- 'NO NATION ACTUALLY HOLDING ISRAEL TO ACCOUNT'

Profiting from misery is to some extent the nature of what capitalism has always been about, but Israel does this with a great deal of impunity, "because Israel does what it wants," said Loewenstein.

"There is no accountability, there is no transparency, there is no nation actually holding Israel to account," he added.

Israel's regime is shielded from any political backlash for years to come because nations are reliant on Israeli weapons and spyware, said the author.

Israel may not be the only player employing surveillance technology that leads to human rights violations, but it still plays a dominant role, which is why Loewenstein insists that it deserves singular attention.

Israel's foreign policy has always been "amoral and opportunistic," he said, calling on all nations to take a stand and hold Israel accountable, and acknowledge that the world is buying what Israel is selling.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Haaretz reported that “Israel has exported a very wide range of weapons to the country [Azerbaijan] – starting with Tavor assault rifles all the way to the most sophisticated systems such as radar, air defense, antitank missiles, ballistic missiles, ships and a wide range of drones, both for intelligence and attack purposes. Israeli companies have also supplied advanced spy tech, such as communications monitoring systems from Verint and the Pegasus spyware from the NSO Group – tools that were used against journalists, the LGBT community and human rights activists in Azerbaijan, too.” The Stockholm International Peace Institute wrote: “Israel’s defense exports to Azerbaijan began in 2005 with the sale of the Lynx multiple launch rocket systems by Israel Military Industries (IMI Systems), which has a range of 150 kilometers (92 miles). IMI, which was acquired by Elbit Systems in 2018, also supplied LAR-160 light artillery rockets with a range of 45 kilometers, which, according to a report from Human Rights Watch, were used by Azerbaijan to fire banned cluster munitions at residential areas in Nagorno-Karabakh,” even though Israel and 123 other countries have banned the use of cluster bombs. Haaretz reported: “In 2007, Azerbaijan signed a contract to buy four intelligence-gathering drones from Aeronautics Defense Systems. It was the first deal of many. In 2008 it purchased 10 Hermes 450 drones from Elbit Systems and 100 Spike antitank missiles produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and in 2010 it bought another 10 intelligence-gathering drones. Soltam Systems, owned by Elbit, sold it ATMOS self-propelled guns and 120-millimeter Cardom mortars, and in 2017 Azerbaijan’s arsenal was supplemented with the more advanced Hanit mortars. According to the telegram leaked in Wikileaks, a sale of advanced communications equipment from Tadiran was also signed in 2008.”

8 Mar 23

[anonymous-lightbulb]

L, it’s 3:26 in the morning!

Now on Ao3!

Soichiro Yagami: L what was so important that it couldn’t wait for the morning?

L: I made a slide show. It can help us find out who Kira is. Slide 1, Yagami Lighto.

Soichiro: You don’t mean to say light is Kira, do you?!!

L: Slide 2, Kira.

Misa: Why does it say image not found?

L: As of yet we don’t know the identity of Kira. Slide 3, a gay Republican.

Light: That’s an image of me, but I’m straight and I’m not a republican…

L: The spyware I put on your computer as well as your voting records would disagree with those statements.

Soichiro: E-elaborate please.

L: Light spends an abnormally long time on male on male explicit sites. Slide 4, traits of a gay conservative: 1. Good at hiding elements of who they are, 2. Has a sense of morality that states that a type of person who is like them e.g. other gay people, are bad. 3. Actively makes the world worse around them by externalizing their internalized homophobia .

Soichiro: Light, we will discuss shortly.

Misa: If light’s gay then why’s he dating me?

L: Is he? He avoids you a lot for someone who is dating you.

Misa(defensively): No he doesn’t!

L: Slide 5: Traits of Kira: 1. Good at hiding elements of who they are, 2. Has a sense of morality that states that a type of person who is like them e.g. targeting people who commit crimes, despite being the most prolific serial killer in recorded history. 3. Actively makes the world worse around them by killing anyone who does something he doesn’t approve of. What I’m saying is *pauses to take a bite of cake, then proceeding to talk with his mouth full* Kira and gay republicans have much much in common, thus raising my suspicion of Light by .13 percent.

[mariacallous]

Russian intelligence is using a Serbian agent to infiltrate EU institutions and to spread pro-Kremlin talking points about its invasion of Ukraine, according to a Western intelligence briefing seen by POLITICO.

As recently as October 2023, Serbian national Novica Antić — an active “agent of influence” who knowingly worked closely with Russia’s security agency, according to the documents — held meetings with European officials in Brussels and in particular, Members of the European Parliament.

Those MEPs included German Greens lawmaker Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Italian Socialists & Democrats lawmaker Alessandra Moretti, and Vladimír Bilčík, a Slovakian member of the conservative European People’s Party Group, according to a press release and a photo seen by POLITICO. There is nothing in the intelligence briefing to suggest that Moretti, Bilčík and von Cramon-Taubadel were aware of Antic’s FSB links when they met with him.

Moretti, Bilčík and von Cramon-Taubadel did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO.

Antić, the chair of the Serbian Military Trade Union, also met with representatives of the EUROMIL and EPSU trade unions, which represent armed forces personnel and public services employees in the European Union, respectively.

When asked about the meeting with Antić, an EPSU official responded, saying: “A delegation of his union was in Brussels in October, where they met with several MEPs and they were all transparent. The only topic was trade union rights.”

EUROMIL told POLITICO said they reacted strongly to the events in Serbia and rejected any possible ties with the Russian authorities.  EUROMIL President Emmanuel Jacob added “the organization could take the short-term step of temporarily suspending Serbia’s observer status pending clarification.”

According to the Western intelligence briefing seen by POLITICO, Antić is an active “agent of influence” for Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB.

Antić works closely with an FSB associate named Vyacheslav Kalinin, a Russian national and editor-in-chief of Veteran News, a media website specializing in news for the veterans of the armed forces. An “About us” tab on the website says that Veteran News is an “information partner” of the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defense, among other branches of Russia’s security forces.

Kalinin did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO. 

While the intelligence briefing highlights Antić’s actions in particular, it noted Kalinin recruited other people, without specifying how many and within which countries.

Russia is using Serbia as a launchpad for influence operations designed to weaken pro-EU and pro-NATO sentiment inside the country as well as within the European Union, which has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago. Antić has used his role as head of Serbia’s military union to criticize Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and senior members of the country’s armed forces.

“They took every opportunity to promote Russian propaganda relating to the war in Ukraine,” the briefing said, referring to meetings in Serbia and EU countries.

The news that Antić held meetings inside the European Parliament underscores the body’s vulnerability to state-backed influence operations. Earlier this month, POLITICO revealed spyware was found on the mobile phones of two lawmakers in the European Parliament, including former French Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau, who chairs the body’s defense subcommittee. 

Antić and his representatives did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO.

Kalinin invited Antić to Russia to meet with senior Russian military officials between 2019 and 2020. Initially focused on influencing Serbian civil society, the pair have since widened their focus to include European trade union and veterans’ organizations and, in recent months, members of the European Parliament.

Antić, an outspoken critic of Serbia’s armed forces who has fallen afoul of the country’s political leadership, is currently being detained on unspecified charges, according to news website Balkan Insight.

According to Balkan Insight, Antić has been dismissed from Serbia’s military twice over the past five years. He has, per the publication, gone on a hunger strike to protest his detention. A lawyer for Antić declined to specify to Balkan Insight on what charges he was being held.

[vroomian]

like 400 words of me rambling to myself about another hazbin oc

armadillo sinner demon, five eyes and four hands, slow and steady, not bothered by much. self-contained. defenses set to max. runs errands in hell. something of a freelance contractor who spends most of their time exploring hell. smokes, but only fun cigars. handyman who can fix most things. gender???? big and bulky. looks slower than they are.

jailbreaks a bunch of tech shit, does some magic because you do need to know it in hell. doesn't bother with most of the pagentry of hell because they're not really worried about it. just plans to enjoy the rest of eternity. what did they go to hell for? worked for drug runners and never went out their way to help anyone in life? worked for deeply unethical people just because the money was good, was an overall netural person but their effects on earth was bad. or something. ace sex positive?? they had no real relationships, a bit of a drifter who has no family. good with their hands but no formal education to speak of.

they died in 2018 so very recently dead, but found their footing in hell pretty easy. knows their way around a bunch of trades so it was easy enough to set themselves up as a relable handyman just by not cheating their clients.

meets alastor after the events of season one when he needs someone to fix his microphone? oc doesn't let al intimidate him, or anything. if he wants to kill them he can kill them, but then good luck getting ayone to fix his microphone. they don't do work for free. so they get two favors out of al in exchange for fixing the raidio and their silence.

husk is the one who knows oc??? they did some work for him in exchange for something??? i have no idea i just like husk lol. worked for the vees as a tech for a while and just quit because the spyware was bad and the tech was junky.

oh they have a lot of pride in their work! it's satisfying in a way that nothing else is so they care more about it than they do about anything else.

[skittleswonders]

A new single stage Cyber type menace has arrived and nobodies privacy is safe from... Speyewere! Pokédex: A crafty and wily pokémon Speyewere are elusive and and shy not liking to be directly seen or interacted with. They are masters of gathering information and use this to learn everything about their chosen preys life and schedule before choosing the perfect time to strike. If captured they will bring their trainers all sorts of information regardless of if they want it or not, and this information can be very personal so it's advised trainers train theirs to only gather relevant and safe info. Their eyes are extremely powerful and can see even small text from over fifty meters away! Misc Notes. Their design and name are a combination of traditional werewolves and malicious spyware. They also have some inspiration and representation of 'furrys' as at least one cyber type had to, let's not kid ourselves. Does not evolve from or into anything. Is the only cyber/psychic type in existence. It's colour scheme oddly matches Okidogi's however this is purely coincidental. Abilities: Inside Job or Infiltrator. Hidden Ability: Opportunist. Inside Job: When this pokémon is sent out you will be quickly shown the opponent's ability and moveset, the opponent will have no indication of this so it's harder to tell what ability Speyewere itself has. Base Stats. HP: 65 Attack: 115 Defense:60 Sp.Attack:85 Sp.Defense:60 Speed: 136

[pianocat939]

I would to see a show down between platonic yanderes Donnie vs Kendra for their friend reader , who do think would think would win ? How would their treat the reader afterwards ?

Donnie content? I eat. Also I don't like Kendra that much. Like her design is really cool but I hate her personality so much. I would be pissed 100% if I ever had to deal with her.

I've been procrastinating so much this week :-;

Tw: manipulation, betrayal (guys it's Kendra), spyware installed in home, some possessive themes

Hangouts and Childish Bickering

"I don't get why you need to introduce me to another person when the people I'm companions with are already sufficient." Donatello quips, further hiding in his violet hoodie. He staggers his pace ever so slightly, clearly not wanting to proceed on.

"Maybe. But they really like technology and engineering just like you do!" Y/n exclaims, stopping their movement for a split second so that Donnie can catch up. Their mouth turns upwards, excited for the two to meet.

He turns his head away, mumbling to himself, "You're the only friend I need..."

A few turns later, they arrive at an alleyway to the side of a cafe. Donnie stays hidden behind Y/n, preferring not to expose himself. Not a presence is in sight; until they emerge from the darkness.

"Y/n~ What's up?" A lilac-haired girl speaks, her neon blue lipstick faintly glowing by the moon's light. The other two members appear behind her, giving a few waves of greeting.

"Not much. Anyway, here's the friend I was talking about-"

"YOU!" Donnie cuts them off, accusingly pointing one of his fingers at Kendra. "YOU DECEIVING MONGOOSE!" He defensively stands in front of his friend, eyes lightened with fury. He knew something was off when Y/n wanted to introduce him to new people because they knew his distaste for most beings. But he never suspected that Kendra, that lying little bitch, would manipulate his dearest friend.

"Oh look who it is. What was your name? Oh right, isn't it Othello Von Ryan." Kendra comments, malice woven through Donnie's pen name. She sassily puts a hand on her hip, a frown evident on her face. "Y/n, you shouldn't be hanging out with him, he's pretty, toxic."

"No, no. Again, Kendra is manipulating you, I'm your best friend. I would do anything to make sure you don't hang out with vermin such as herself." He retorts back, eyes narrowing.

The tension is intense, not even the bold would speak. Y/n leans to the side, over the turtle's shoulder, "I have no idea what's happened between you two but I'm not gonna stop being friends with either of you."

"Hmph. Whatever you say, but we're going back to the lair, now come on." He turns back to the direction they came from, his mind swirling with hateful thoughts. Kendra trying to steal his beloved friend? He won't let it happen under any circumstances.

Right before Donnie can get too far, Kendra offers, "Wait. What if him and I have a battle to see who's fit to be your friend?" She confidently steps forward, challenging him to an imaginary duel.

Donnie laughs a little, before flipping back to look her in the eye."As if you're not going pull one of your betrayals again, you did it to both me, Sheldon, and now Y/n. Clearly, there is no need to do such childish bickering." His eyes are dark, filled with no emotion except hatred.

"Nah. I genuinely want to have a competition with you. This is something much more important." She tilts her slightly, returning the look back to the mutant.

"Hah, I'll observe you suffering and laugh when I win."

"Back at ya'. It starts now. Whoever gets un-friended first is the loser."

"Guys do we really need to do this?"

——————————————————

Analysis:

First of all, how would they fight with each other? Obviously using technology, but there is a psychological factor as well. They'll try to steal your time, suggesting who's more fun to hang out with, or is better suited for you.

Princess Diana will offer you two to play video games or to go have fun on his jetpack drone, flying above the New York buildings under the dark navy sky. He'll be much more affectionate? In his own way. He'll try to compliment you (keyword: try) or gives you tech to improve your life. Basically, he pushes himself to prove to you he's better than Kendra.

Kendra, on the other hand, will convince you that you don't need anyone else. She'll point out Donnie's flaws (we still love them tho) and trash-talk about him really. She's pulling the Leo card (if you're unfamiliar with my blog Leo card essentially means manipulation) but more aggressively negative. Similar to Donald Duck she prepares the most extra "friend dates". She's researching the most expensive place (whatever you like to do) cheating her way in and being all friendly. You would think that she's trying to gain something from you based on how she acts but she truly does want to keep being your friend. Why? Because you're interesting.

Now, for the fun part.

Who would win?

This isn't up to debate tbh, it's Donnie. Guys, it's not that hard, it's Donnie ok? Just look at him, he's not going to be pulling a Leo card too much.

How would he react?

He gets somewhat possessive. It's not your stereotypical "you're mine" but it's there. He'll express it as more of "I'm much more fun to hang out with than ___." After your initial introduction to Kendra, he hates it if you reference a friend other than him (except April obv).

I don't think he would bring himself to the edge of kidnapping but he installs cameras, microphones, and other spyware within your house. He's internally self-conscious that you'll replace him with another and that he'll lose his title as a best friend. So he uses his resources and intelligence to ensure you don't become too close to someone else.

And he may or may not sabotage them if he needs to split you apart.

He would never admit this, but he's really lonely. Like throughout the show he tries to impress people with his tech and prove himself worthy of their companionship. With people, he respects I mean. April is the only one who sticks with him (minus his brothers obviously).

So it canonically would make sense that he would pull something similar to this. Maybe not as extreme, but it is a high possibility.

Oh and he's blocking half of the people you know.

——————————————————

Whenever I analyze him it's the most accurate compared to anyone else. I can easily point out his thought process so well it's almost funny.

Anyway, I'll try to get more requests out tomorrow~

- Celina

[steevejr]

“A top secret military acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard what the U.S. Navy suspected was the Titan submersible implosion hours after the vehicle began its mission, officials involved in the search said.

The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a U.S. defense official. Shortly after the submersible’s disappearance Sunday, the U.S. system detected what it suspected was the sound of an implosion near the debris site discovered Thursday and reported its findings to the commander on site, U.S. defense officials said.

“The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” a senior U.S. Navy official told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. “While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.”

The Navy asked that the specific system used not be named, citing national security concerns.”

source

So basically oceangate told the government as soon as communications were lost and there was no mystery as to what happened, they just didn’t want to out the US navy as having really great ocean spyware to those enemy countries.

[enterprisewired]

Sophisticated iPhone Backdoor Campaign Revealed: Unprecedented Attack Exploits Undocumented Hardware Feature

In a recent revelation, researchers have unearthed startling details about a clandestine attack that infiltrated numerous iPhones for over four years, notably compromising the devices of employees from the Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky. The crux of these findings is centered on the attackers’ ability to achieve an unparalleled level of access by exploiting a vulnerability within an undocumented hardware feature—a knowledge confined to a select few, primarily Apple and chip suppliers like ARM Holdings.

The Intricacies of the Attack

Kaspersky researcher Boris Larin expressed astonishment at the sophistication exhibited by the exploit and the obscurity surrounding the hardware feature. Larin’s email underscored the advanced technical prowess of the assailants. He noted, “Our analysis hasn’t revealed how they became aware of this feature, but we’re exploring all possibilities, including accidental disclosures in past firmware or source code releases. They may also have stumbled upon it through hardware reverse engineering.”

Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Investigations

Despite a year-long intensive investigation, key questions persist. Larin highlighted the ongoing mystery surrounding the purpose of the hardware feature. Additionally, the researchers remain in the dark about whether this feature is an inherent component of the iPhone or if it’s enabled by a third-party hardware element, such as ARM’s CoreSight.

Mass Backdooring Campaign

The clandestine campaign, which purportedly breached iPhones of numerous individuals within diplomatic missions and embassies in Russia according to Russian officials, first came to light in June. Spanning over four years, the infections infiltrated devices via iMessage texts, deploying malware through a complex exploit chain without requiring any action from the receiver.

The Impact and Persisting Threat

The infected devices became hosts to comprehensive spyware, enabling the exfiltration of sensitive data like microphone recordings, photos, and geolocation to servers controlled by the attackers. Although reboots erased the infections, the assailants perpetuated their campaign by sending new malicious iMessage texts shortly after device restarts.

Critical Zero-Day Exploits and Subsequent Actions

Newly disclosed details shed light on the “Triangulation” malware and its installation campaign. The exploit capitalized on four critical zero-day vulnerabilities, programming flaws known to the attackers before Apple was aware of them. Apple has since addressed all four vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2023-32434, CVE-2023-32435, CVE-2023-38606, and CVE-2023-41990, through patches.

Summing Up

The unveiling of this sophisticated infiltration underscores the evolving landscape of cyber threats, emphasizing the critical need for continuous vigilance and swift responses from tech companies to safeguard user data and devices against such advanced attacks. As investigations continue, researchers strive to unravel the intricacies of the exploit and fortify defenses against potential future threats.

Curious to learn more? Explore our articles on Enterprise Wired

[h-a-unted]

What are rare-pairs that you’re passionate about?

Who was your first OC?

Are you happy with how your favorite canon muse was portrayed in canon?

How do you describe writing / rp to others?

Questions for the mun!

Rare-pairs... oh my god I have so many of those that I'm drawing a blank right now. I think the one that comes to mind is strangely Da.igo Doji.ma and Goro Maji.ma from the Yakuza games lmao, maybe even Ichiban and Zhao from the same games, idk I just vibe with them. But Daiji.ma was my shit for the longest time. And also probably Kuroiwa and Yagami from the Yakuza spin-off, Judgment. OH! And also Soma and the professor dude or like... his subordinate Akutsu (but I guess that last one wasn't a rarepair) from the sequel of the spin-off. Does Maevelight count as rarepair? Cause they'd be my top rarepair as of now (and maybe Zack and Cloud if they count as rarepair) I'm wondering if I'll like Home.lander and Fire.cracker but that probably won't be a rarepair lmao.

My first OC, I am unsure if I can pinpoint... I think it was this servant girl called Lilian I made for a canon character, when I used to try and run from my male/male ships to be "normal" lmfao! My first OC here though was my AI, AIROS. My sweet bean, my lovely android who is trying to learn about the world without knowing he is a spyware watching over the people. I had a lot of verses for him... maybe I could add one for the boys, but he'd be too much of a good boy to be able to survive in that world... Though it'd be a good chance to give him a real-life FC I guess.

I have so many favorite canons that change with what I'm currently obsessed with. Like, before the boys it was Adler and I immediately 'hated' him as a mechanism of defense because I actually loved him a lot lmfao, his characterization was top notch in-game, so much that everyone really wants him to appear in the sequel despite the wrongdoings he did to the protagonist. Anyway, since right now I am obsessed with the boys and clearly But.cher is my favorite – it's safe to say I'm pretty satisfied with most of his portrayal in canon, as of Season 3. There is a leak that has me just a little doubtful about what they're trying to do with him going forward, but I'm hoping it's explained in a way I can get behind, they've done well, so far. Otherwise, I feel like they did a very nice, deeply flawed character that I adore. It hits all the spots I love in a character and, honestly, I feel it was tailor-made for me to love, at least the show rendition of him. I don't like the comics one at all. Aside from that, I think Raiden from Met.al Gear has been practically my sleeping agent all-time favorite or so, and I absolutely love what they did with his character (not me vibing with a "mood swings" type of character trying to do good, but also being unhinged). I miss him and his struggles a whole lot, wish they would've continued his games.

I describe rp as "I portray a character from a series or invent one and make up scenarios with friends on the internet who portray other characters. We keep the scenes going back and forth." Despite this, I don't think my mother gets it at all. My friends didn't get it at the start, until I made them rp with me via notebooks when we were in middle school, it turned into an obsession for all of us... Good times lmao.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Belgians...

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Morocco World News is Moroccan Media]

29 Jun 23

In December 2020, a month after the end of the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario, then-President Donald Trump declared U.S. support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. The recognition contravened the United Nations’ position, which considers Western Sahara a “non-self governing territory,” a euphemism for a colony. In return for U.S. support on Western Sahara, Morocco joined the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic deals brokered by Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that resulted in the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco normalizing relations with Israel. Since then, Rabat has gone from having covert ties with Tel Aviv to becoming its open ally, and Israel has sold at least 150 drones to Morocco.[...]

Since 2020, the two countries have implemented a long series of economic and military agreements beyond the sale of drones. For the first time, Israeli troops from the elite Golani unit participated in Africa Lion, an 18-country joint military drill in Morocco, which completed on June 18. In 2021 and 2022, respectively, Gantz, Israel’s then-minister of defense, and then-Head of Israel Defense Forces Aviv Kochavi visited Morocco and signed several military deals, including a $500 million contract for the delivery of the Barak MX missile defense system to Rabat. Early this year, one of the Pentagon Discord leaks allegedly revealed that the system was scheduled to arrive in Morocco in mid-2023. Morocco is reportedly also in advanced negotiations to receive Israeli Merkava tanks. Rabat and Tel Aviv are also cooperating at an intelligence level. Morocco has widely been reported (and accused by other countries) as one of the most eager users of the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli NSO Group. Meanwhile, economic cooperation is booming. According to U.N. data analyzed by The Intercept, in pre-Abraham 2019, trade between Israel and Morocco was at $70.7 million. In 2022, the figure reached $178.7 million, and Tel Aviv has declared it is targeting $500 million. From 2019 to 2022, exports from Israel to Morocco increased tenfold, from $3.8 million to $38.5 million. Western Sahara plays an important role in the love story between the two countries. In 2021 and 2022, two Israeli companies, Ratio Petroleum and NewMed Energy, obtained from Morocco rights to research and potentially exploit two separate offshore blocks in the Atlantic Ocean just off Western Sahara’s coastline. Moroccan local news also announced Israel’s Selina group would soon open a hotel in Dakhla. For Morocco, foreign investments in what it considers its “southern province” mean external recognition of its claims on the territory.[...] In March last year, WSRW reported the first shipment of phosphate rock from Western Sahara to Israel. Erik Hagen, board member of WSRW, told The Intercept that the cargo was very small, and it is the only one they observed toward Israel. OCP, the Moroccan company extracting and exporting phosphate rock in Morocco and Western Sahara, hasn’t replied to a request for comment about the episode.

1 Jul 23

[Atalayar is Spanish Media]

As part of the US Senate debate on the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024, a law that supports the Armed Forces, modernises the Air Force and strengthens US national security, Arizona Democrat Senator Mark Kelly proposed integrating the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) into military exercises led by the US Central Command (CENTCOM). Part of this law states the need to assess threats in order to reduce those related to Iran's nuclear capabilities: 'It seeks to improve coordination between the United States and regional partners to counter the shared threat from Iran by supporting Morocco's integration into military exercises led by CENTCOM', as reported by media outlets such as Yabiladi and Morocco Latest News.  The operations carried out by this body seek to "improve coordination" between the US giant and "regional partners" in order to counter the threat posed by Iran to the whole. The US Central Command is one of nine unified security commands within the US Department of Defense and is responsible for US interests in 27 nations, operating in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. [...] Morocco is a permanent partner of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and an important player in the annual 'African Lion' exercises, in which a large number of African nations cooperate with the United States to promote defence and security against threats such as jihadist terrorism and organised crime. Now, it appears that Morocco may be close to joining the US military command in the Middle East (CENTCOM), and in addition to the scheduled AFRICOM exercises, Morocco may be called upon to participate in exercises organised by the US military in the Middle East region, thanks in part to a proposal by Senator Mark Kelly. [...] With this possible entry into CENTCOM as the second African country after Egypt, Morocco, a great ally of the United States on the African continent, would thus strengthen its military and security cooperation with the US and, by extension, with other allied partners such as Israel. This privileged position gives Morocco the option of having access to an important market for weapons and technology produced by the US and Israel, which further strengthens the Moroccan military.

1 Jul 23

27 Jun 23

[cyber-sec]

Russia’s Turla hackers target Ukraine’s defense with spyware

Source: https://therecord.media/turla-hackers-targeting-ukraine-defense

More info: https://cert.gov.ua/article/5213167

[mariacallous]

Israeli defense officials have called Israel’s surveillance apparatus in Gaza one of the most sophisticated in the world. But it failed on Oct. 7.

At dawn, Palestinian militants broke through Israel’s multibillion-dollar border fence separating the blockaded Gaza Strip from Israeli communities, breaching the barrier in as many as 80 different places. The militants navigated small drones that disabled Israeli cameras, remote sensing systems, and automated machine guns that would have alerted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that the fence had failed.

After they crossed, militants swarmed Israel’s Zikim military base, killing many soldiers and taking some hostage. Over the next six hours, Hamas fighters would kill or take hostage hundreds of Israeli civilians as well as scores of foreign nationals. Militants massacred 250 revelers at a desert rave and hundreds of other people in their own homes, shooting entire families at point-blank range. More than 200 soldiers and civilians—including infants, children, older people, and migrant farm laborers—were shoved onto motorcycles or into golf carts and driven back over the border into Gaza as captives. (Four have since been released.) Residents of cities farther north were roused by air sirens warning of incoming missiles, as news alerts began revealing the scale of the attack.

In total, the operation killed more than 1,400 Israelis. It had been planned for months, if not years, and mobilized more than 1,500 militants from Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, as well as some from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group.

The failure by Israeli intelligence to anticipate the massacre was a shock, given the country’s cutting-edge surveillance systems and weaponry pioneered by its technologically advanced military. From borders equipped with hundreds of sensors, cameras, robotic machine guns, and automated drone swarms to biometric databases and spyware, high-tech systems have helped enforce a 16-year Israeli blockade of Gaza and its 2.3 million Palestinian inhabitants. These systems have also been deployed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as part of a broader regime of population control.

Yet, on Oct. 7, that intelligence apparatus did not work as promised. Security experts and human rights advocates in Israel say the atrocities are evidence that technology can never be a tenable salve to regional insecurity. It is time to reconsider whether high-tech solutions to violence can ever stand in for political ones.

How exactly Hamas defeated Israel’s sophisticated technology—including a $1.1 billion border wall fortified with underground and aerial remote sensing technologies—is still being investigated. For more than 16 years, the IDF thwarted all but a handful of breaches to the border fence with deadly aerial bombardments, sniper fire, and dragnet surveillance.

But from early indications, it seems the Palestinian militia operated right under Israel’s nose. Hamas compiled troves of information about Israel’s intelligence capabilities and security infrastructure for months. Operatives reportedly trained for the onslaught at a sprawling base near the Gaza-Israel fence for more than a year. They drove through the barrier on trucks and motorcycles, flew over it on bright beach paragliders, and motorboated up the Mediterranean coast.

“They [the Gaza militants] studied us very well. They knew what kind of technology we had on the fence. They knew what needed to be destroyed before getting through the fence. They also knew where the army units were, the tanks, and the bases,” said Yohanan Tzoreff, a senior researcher with the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Nothing alerted us that something was wrong along the border. Nothing gave us a picture of what happened in this area,” he said.

While in the occupied West Bank, Israel relies on spy networks, embedded informants, and secret agents, its tactics in Gaza largely rest on digital and automated systems. Israel controls and limits access to telecommunications and internet across the territory, and the military deploys automated drones in nearly 24/7 aerial reconnaissance of densely populated urban areas. Yet somehow, Hamas mapped the sensors, cameras, watch towers, and military bases along the border—planning its sabotage without triggering a single alarm.

The group hid its preparation by avoiding digital communications altogether while planning for the attack. Many of its operations were moved to underground bunkers equipped with hardwired phones outside the range of 2G networks monitored by the IDF. But components of the attack were also rehearsed in broad daylight in plain view of Israeli military personnel. IDF officials even wrote off a September propaganda video of Hamas exploding the border fence; the army simply assumed the border was impenetrable.

Members of Israel’s security establishment have publicly denounced the IDF’s overreliance on technology to contain Gaza in the wake of the attack. Some also lamented that resources were directed away from ground troops on the Gaza border and toward a tech-obsessed military, which had become, in the words of retired IDF Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Barik, “swollen with arrogance.”

“If most of your intelligence comes from sigint [signals intelligence], then I suppose you’re in a way blind if anyone is operating without cellphones or digital communications,” said Ami Ayalon, the former head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency. “We just assumed they [Hamas] wouldn’t attack now.”

Ayalon, who has devoted his retirement to advocating for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, told Foreign Policy that the military used technology as a “bandage,” focusing on quick fixes to regional volatility while the government abandoned any possibility of bringing about a lasting peace.

“Our [Israel’s] policy has been, we should do everything to maintain this situation, to manage the conflict, not to solve it, because to solve would mean we would pay a huge price”—such as pulling hundreds of thousands of settlers from the occupied West Bank and forfeiting swaths of land in the name of a two-state solution.

Israeli investments in high-tech security and surveillance systems took off in the early 2000s, in response to a surge of Palestinian suicide attacks and other violence of the Second Intifada. Under increasingly right-wing leadership, Israel’s military spent billions of dollars to develop more effective ways to manage regional violence (much of the money came from U.S. military aid) rather than addressing its root causes.

Generals assured the world that biometric cameras, automated drones, targeted spyware, and smarter border walls could effectively quell Palestinian militant groups across the region. Once these generals retired from the military, many of them sat on the boards of weapons companies that promised the technologies would enhance global security. Israeli assaults on Gaza doubled as opportunities arose for Israeli defense firms to unveil automated reconnaissance and strike drones, which were then exported around the world.

As one Israeli columnist put it: “For every significant threat originating in Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007, Israel responded with technological solutions.” The country experienced unprecedented economic growth, powered in large part by the military technology sector, as Gaza endured an economic crisis compounded by the collective trauma of unending war.

Human rights advocates say the Israeli government’s tech-heavy policies helped shield Israeli society from the violence and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. “The situation in Gaza has been repressed for so long by Israeli society,” said Miriam Marmur, the director of public advocacy at Gisha, an Israeli nonprofit that promotes freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza. “Now we’re seeing it surface in horrifying and terrifying ways.”

Israel’s belief that technology can act as a salve to geopolitical volatility mirrors global trends. From NATO- and U.S.-sponsored drone warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq to predictive policing algorithms in the United States, militaries and police forces worldwide have touted high-tech innovation as a silver bullet to quell chronic insecurity. Yet precision strikes and algorithms have done little to address the root causes of violence in all these places. Nearly two decades of drone warfare failed to eliminate al Qaeda—or stop the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. In the United States, predictive policing software, which is rarely accurate, has diverted resources from social services that might more effectively deter crime.

An Israeli approach to Palestinians that would have genuinely improved their lives and offered them hope for independence may well have strengthened the more moderate elements in the West Bank and Gaza and weakened Hamas—a group whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw political advantages in allowing Hamas to continue ruling Gaza.

As recently as 2019, Netanyahu said strengthening Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank would keep Palestinians divided politically and sabotage any chance for a viable two-state solution. It would also potentially abet the Israeli far right’s goal of annexing the West Bank.

Israel’s military leadership promised that sophisticated weaponry and missile defense systems could maintain this equilibrium. Recent wars between Gaza and Israel hardly disturbed social and economic life in Israel’s urban centers. The status quo, which exacted Palestinian pain and suffering, felt sustainable to most Israelis.

But Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack destroyed the image of a sleek and efficient Israeli war machine that Netanyahu and his allies tried so hard to cultivate. It took one of the most vaunted militaries in the world hours to respond to pleas for help from civilians locked inside their homes or hiding under piles of dead bodies as Hamas militants poured in from Gaza and went on a killing spree. In some cases, off-duty or retired military personnel donned uniforms to rescue their own relatives, driving alone into besieged towns to engage in direct combat.

Intent on redeeming itself, the IDF has responded in an unrestrained and brutal way. The Israeli air force is carpet-bombing Gaza’s crowded urban centers to pave the way for what is likely to be an even deadlier ground invasion. Israeli strikes have so far killed more than 8,000 Palestinians, with thousands more injured, according to Palestinian health officials. Some 700,000 Palestinians in Gaza have fled their homes. Already, one Israeli publication has said the next phase of war will be “a proving ground for some of Israel’s latest military technology.”

Yet any escalation of the war will only lead to more deaths, no matter the technologies deployed. “Do not destroy the Gaza Strip,” Neta Heiman wrote in Haaretz days after Hamas kidnapped her 84-year-old mother, “that won’t help anyone and will only bring an even more ferocious round of violence the next time.”