➡️ Today, we’re able to reveal that the Iranian regime secretly uses FindFace, a Russian facial recognition software, which can identify people in public spaces within seconds.

We have obtained videos showing the software in a live-scenario, at metro stations in Teheran. We have contracts, and we have had a look at the code, built by the Russian company Ntechlab. www.derstandard.at/story/300000...

„Doch laut Dokumenten, die der taz vorliegen, ermittelt die Polizei gegen den Schuldirektor im Fall nun sogar wegen ‚falscher Verdächtigung’. Weder auf Deutsch, Arabisch oder Englisch lassen sich zudem Belege für seinen imposanten Lebenslauf finden.“ Starke Recherche! taz.de/Mutmassliche...

Brett Max Kaufman and I wrote this piece about the NSA's "vocabulary of misdirection" a long time ago but maybe someone at Open AI should read it. slate.com/news-and-pol...

Did the BBC News TV channel also fire its entire regional team or is it just me finding the coverage is lacking reporting? Endless "think tank" interviews...

Happy deemed refusal of the request for internal review of the deemed refusal day!

Finally we may get some truth and justice in the #spyware scandal. A Greek court convicted four persons for their role in the abuse of spyware against ao journalists and politicians. Further investigations are needed into the very close ties with the government party. Will @ec.europa.eu wake up now?

"Almost four years since the 'Predatorgate' scandal hit Greece, we are finally seeing consequences for those involved in the abuse of surveillance technology." https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/02/greece-spyware-scandal/

But if you're, say, a school trying to remove a fired teacher for trespassing... that'd be a civil matter https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/02/26/palestine-protester-arrested-after-disrupting-google-conference-in-dublin-due-in-court/

Four Intellexa figures found guilty in Greece

Prominent Angolan journalist Teixeira Cândido was targeted by Predator, a highly invasive mobile phone spyware. This is the first forensic confirmation of its use in Angola, amid a tightening authoritarian environment in the country.

Today EU and Angolan ministers meet in Brussels - an opportunity for both sides to act to curb spyware abuses. A recent @amnesty.org investigation underlines the real-world cost of the development, sale and use of spyware technologies.

A ruling sheds a small light on opaque intel-gathering on some citizenship seekers. An Garda Síochána “has developed strong links with other security services, particularly those with whom the State shares common threats to national security”, it says.

NEW: The U.S. government is sanctioning Russian zero-day broker Operation Zero and its founder, alleging it acquired stolen hacking tools from U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Trenchant. The U.S. said former Trenchant boss Peter Williams stole and sold these exploits to Operation Zero.

The Austrian Ministry of the Interior bought social media surveillance software 'Tangles' from Cobwebs/Penlink and refuses to tell parliament whether they also bought the intrusive Tangles add-on 'Webloc', which relies on the mass collection of personal data from digital advertising and mobile apps.

NEW: Last year, Cellebrite stopped Serbia from using its tools after allegations that local police had abused them to hack into the phone of a journalist. Now there are similar allegations in Kenya and Jordan, and Cellebrite is taking an entirely different approach.

The UK literally invented immigration raid reality TV shows, and are currently trying to do away with jury trials btw

“Techno-cynics are all just wounded techno-optimists.” yes, we are. I tell students and colleagues often that contrary to what they might think, I actually love technology and that is why I’m so angry because I know and can see how it could be and how it most certainly is not.

NEW: Researchers found Intellexa Predator spyware used against prominent journalist in Angola. The Intellexa customer contacted the journalist on WhatsApp and after a few days of chatting started sending him malicious links, until he clicked one and got infected. Spyware disappeared after reboot.

Do you know how the exploits you sell are used? "Mwangi’s arbitrary arrest and the use of Cellebrite’s forensic technology in the context of this arrest and without consent likely violates both regional and international human rights law and the Kenyan constitution" citizenlab.ca/research/cel...

It is the first known case in the EU where a human-rights defender faces imprisonment for organising a Pride march, according to civil society.

> The State cannot claim it lacks capacity. It has police, it has a military, it has an airport. It simply refuses to apply scrutiny to US-linked flights in the way it would to almost any other perceived security concern. https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41792807.html

We've been taking a close look at court documents on the FBI's raid on a Washington Post reporter's home. There's a lot journalists can learn from this incident. freedom.press/digisec/blog...

Greek authorities have issued an European Arrest Warrant against Norwegian human rights activist Tommy Olsen, who leads the Aegean Boat Report, supporting migrants.

Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet: www.404media.co/with-ring-am...

Collecting PPS numbers as described here sounds a lot like mandatory ID tied to individual social media accounts - under the cover of age verification. Watch this proposal very closely https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41790851.html

Nach den ICE-Morden in den USA ist das Abgrenzungsbedürfnis in Europa groß. Dabei ist die Migrationsabwehr der EU keineswegs humaner – der Unterschied ist nur, dass die rechtlose Gewalt ins Mittelmeer und nach Nordafrika ausgelagert wird.

Irish law requires a lot more than this ‘not our remit’ type deflection.

A very eye-opening follow-up: the account owner openly admits they were posting hateful content simply to develop, and monetise, a big TikTok account bsky.app/profile/jim....

A state-sponsored threat actor is targeting the Signal users in Germany in a complex phishing campaign According to Germany's cybersecurity agency, targets include high-ranking politicians, the military, and investigative journalists www.bsi.bund.de/SharedDocs/C...

It’s cool that this is just politics now

LLMs still really can't cope with questions about EU legislation, but in fairness, neither can I

Happy deemed refusal FOIA day to those who celebrate

🔴 BREAKING: Italy detained our Sea-Watch 5, because we did not communicate our operations with the so-called Libyan coastguard – militias known for abductions and torture. But we will not be stopped and will keep fighting for freedom of movement for all!

300.000 EUR bei PR-Firma Daniel Kapp, aus ungeklärter Herkunft Menschenrechtsorganisationen zu diffamieren lohnt sich

Apropos Daniel Kapp und "Solidarität Israel", zur Erinnerung:

New: Cellebrite continues to be used to perpetrate human rights abuses. Their UFED device was used to break into the phones of activists in Jordan. Report from Citizen Lab: https://citizenlab.ca/research/from-protest-to-peril-cellebrite-used-against-jordanian-civil-society/

"Companies are offering law enforcement agencies the ability to track smartphone users through advertising data ... Le Monde attended confidential presentations of these new surveillance tools to learn more" ...feat Penlink, RCS, Wave Guard, Rayzone, Cognyte: www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/ar...

And now comes the silly part

New law gives Irish law enforcement agencies the power to: -surveil any type of modern communications channel -use spyware -force service providers to cooperate

🇮🇪Ireland: “Legislation will include new legal basis for the use of covert surveillance software as an alternative means of lawful interception.” www.gov.ie/en/departmen...

I will say, bold move for an Austrian political party to call themselves the NEOS

Very doubtful of this story, fwiw

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VICTORY: All 24 aid workers in Lesbos have been ACQUITTED of all felony charges! ⚖️ While this is a vindication for the defendants, it is also bittersweet. This 7-year ordeal has shut down life-saving work while people continue to drown. Our full reaction for @hrw.org 👇

While the US continues its authoritarian slide, the EU and its member states seek to criminalise saving lives at sea. Today sea rescuers go on trial in Greece: https://www.dw.com/en/rescue-or-crime-humanitarian-aid-workers-on-trial-in-greece/a-75505957

"It creates an information vacuum and a digital darkness that may provide cover for the perpetration of serious human rights violations." #KeepItOn www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...