Pegasus and the spy in your pocket
The End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy
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Friends,
The temptation to talk further about ChatGPT - particularly Why the AI Explosion Has Huge Implications for the Metaverse - was great, but I wanted to revert back to personal data and the book - Pegasus How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy - by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud all about cyber-surveillance. It’s an excellent read and worth the binge, given where we are as a society. There is an incredible amount of personal information stored on your smartphone. From your most intimate conversations to your most precious memories, your phone is a digital extension of your mind - not quite your second brain, but an organised version of it. Imagine if someone could access everything on your phone without your knowledge or consent.
In "Pegasus," a book by investigative journalists, the dangers to digital privacy are explored through the story of a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers believed to be potential targets for the Pegasus cyber-surveillance software. Pegasus, developed by a company called NSO, allows governments, organizations, or individuals to remotely access a phone and all its contents, from messages to photos to camera and microphone use. While NSO claims it's only licensed for fighting crime and terrorism, the leaked list contained numbers for innocent individuals like government officials, academics, human rights activists, political dissidents, and journalists, indicating an attack on free speech and democracy.
On July 18, 2021, the Pegasus Project was published in 17 major media outlets across ten different countries, revealing the misuse of Pegasus in countries like Morocco, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Despite legal threats from the Moroccan and French governments, the journalists stood firm in their commitment to journalistic ethics and integrity, protecting their sources and reporting only what they could verify. The fallout from the Pegasus Project was significant and the project demonstrated the importance of vigilance against cyber-surveillance and invasions of privacy and the critical role that journalists play in exposing threats to democracy and human rights.
I write about this to remind you that nothing is private, from loyalty programmes to apps that track your location, to health monitoring apps. And if you’re not too worried about what’s possible for the super elite - I’ll point you to this article ——→ Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You
Stay Curious,
PS. For my journalist friends or for those interested in the importance of investigative journalism - I can recommend Forbidden Stories
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