FinFisher Slips Beneath the Cold, Dark Sea
April 1, 2022
I read “Stage Win: FinFisher Is Bankrupt.” The main idea is that the somewhat controversial vendor of intelware is out of business. The article states:
“The end of FinFisher is not the end of the state Trojan market,” says Thorsten Schröder, who conducted the CCC FinSpy analysis together with Linus Neumann. “The employees who are now laid off will look for new jobs – presumably at competitors, who will probably also take over the customer base.” More important than the company going bankrupt, therefore, is a conclusion to the criminal proceedings. “We all hope that the end of FinFisher is just the beginning and that the competitors will also finally face legal and financial consequences,” says Linus Neumann.
What is interesting that as information moved from “secret” to open sources, the reaction to specialized software and services has been interesting. The MBA, cowboy emulating, entrepreneurial approach to generating revenue has had an impact.
Blub, blub. Is this the sound of that will haunt other vendors of specialized software and services? What if companies with fish names may face a similar fate?
Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2022
The Art and Craft of Sending Document Copies to Legal Eagles: The Googley Method
April 1, 2022
Not joke. I read an allegedly accurate write up. It is called “Justice Department Accuses Google of Hiding Business Communications.” The idea is that in the US communications between a lawyer and his/her/them clients are privileged. I am not attorney, but the idea is to allow the lawyer to discuss sensitive issues with the his/her/them paying the bills.
The write up states:
The DOJ writes in its brief that Google teaches employees to request advice from counsel around sensitive business communications, thereby shielding documents from discovery in legal situations. Once counsel is involved, the company can treat the documents as protected under attorney-client privilege.
My view is that Google is just being “Googley.” When people who perceive themselves as entitled and really smart, those his/her/thems get advice from bright, often lesser individuals. The Googlers process the advice and when a suggestion measures up to Googzilla’s standards, the suggestion just sorta maybe becomes a way to handle certain issues.
Those who are Googley understand. Individuals who are not Googley — presumably like those in the Department of Justice — don’t understand the Googliness of the action.
Laws. Rules of the road. Those are often designed for the non Googley. The Googley must tolerate the others. But having the cash to throw legal cannon fodder in the path of the lesser lights who would do the Google harm is a useful tactic.
Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2022
Simple, Fair Digital Markets: Saddle Up, Don Quixote
March 25, 2022
Who knew that I would continue to reference the very long, very weird book I had to read in the seventh grade? Yet here I am: Don Quixote, slayer of windmills, a trusted sidekick, and a study horse.
“Europe Agrees New Law to Curb Big Tech Dominance” explains that the proud animal and adept rider is ambling from the barn after decades of training. Tally ho! The write up says:
Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), giants such as Google and Apple will be forced to open up their services and platforms to other businesses. Major technology firms have long faced criticism that they use their market dominance to squeeze out competition.
Now that certain US technology outfits are dominant, what’s the fix? I suppose one could dismount and paint the windmills a different color. Where would one locate a color? How about Googling? Alternatively one might consult a Facebook group. And there is the ever objective Amazon, complete with fake reviews and odd ball videos showing a functioning product? Amazing.
Outfitted like the elegant Don, the trusted source of information reports:
The EU wants to give users more choice over how people send messages. The new rules would require that technology make their messaging services interoperable with smaller competitors.
As the rider, cohorts, and snorting animals charge at their targets, will the companies be fungible. Might they prove to be chimera?
At least one of the evil entities is Googzilla? Despite its age, the creature still has teeth, lots of teeth, and lawyers, lots of lawyers.
Stephen E Arnold, March 25, 2022
California: Knee Jerk Reflex Decades After the Knee Cap Whack
March 23, 2022
Talk about reflexes. I read “California Bill Would Let Parents Sue Social Media Companies for Addicting Kids.” [You will have to pay to read the original and wordy write up.] The main idea is that an attentive parent with an ambulance chaser or oodles of cash can sue outfits like the estimable Meta Zuck thing, the China-linked TikTok, or the “we do good” YouTube and other social media entities. (No, I don’t want to get into definitions. I will leave that to the legal eagles.) The write up states:
Assembly Bill 2408, or the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act, was introduced by Republican Jordan Cunningham of Paso Robles and Democrat Buffy Wicks of Oakland with support from the University of San Diego School of Law Children’s Advocacy Institute. It’s the latest in a string of legislative and political efforts to crack down on social media platforms’ exploitation of their youngest users.
I like the idea that commercial enterprises should not addict child users. I want to point out that the phrasing is ambiguous. I assume the real news outfit means content consumers under a certain age, not the less positive meaning of the phrase.
I think the legislation is a baby step in a helpful direction. But it has taken decades for the toddler to figure out how to find the digital choo choo train. The reflex reaction seems to lag as well. Whack. And years later a foot moves forward.
Stephen E Arnold, March 23, 2022
Zuck Pestered by Legal Flies in Canberra
March 18, 2022
My most interesting experience in Canberra was the flies. These knew I was giving a lecture at the International Chiefs of Police Conference. I met a number of dedicated and effective law enforcement professionals. But I remember the flies. These critters besieged me when I walked from the conference hotel to a small market. I know I bought a hat with a mesh curtain, but the flies were persistent.
Meta Facebook whatever is learning that there are dedicated and effective public servants in Australia. The Zuck is discovering what I conceptualize as lawyers with the stick-to-ativity of those Canberra flies.
“Australian Watchdog Sues Facebook-Owner Meta over Scam Advertisements” — from a trusted source no less — explains that the Australian competition watchdog is taking action for Zuck’s alleged advertising methods. What are these? Nothing new: Allegations of questionable conduct and in appropriate use of images. (Note: You may have to cough up personal data or pay to view the source article from those trust worthy folks.)
I am not sure how Meta’s leadership team is leaning in to this most recent challenge. One downstream consequence is that countries allied with Australia are likely to monitor the legal action. If it prevails, other countries may pursue similar actions.
Flies. Annoying.
Stephen E Arnold, March 18, 2022
Zuckbook Meta: A First of Note
March 15, 2022
I have been working for more than 50 years. I cannot recall an American company finding itself in legal tangles which transcend the routine “Let’s sue ‘em in Texas.”
First, Facebook and the lovable Googzilla find themselves the focus of fresh-as-a-daisy antitrust probes in the European Union and the ever-organized United Kingdom. You can read about this matter in “Jedi Blue Ad Deal between Google and Facebook Sparks New Antitrust Probes in EU and UK.”
Second, Facebook faces a legal action for collecting facial recognition data. This is a Texas action which adds to the baker’s dozen of US state attorneys general thinking hard about the social media company devoted to bringing people together. You can read about the facial recognition matter in “Texas Sues Meta for Collecting Facial Recognition Data.”
Now the third legal hassle. The exceptionally cheerful country called Russia wants its judicial system to slap “extremist” on the cheerful blue logo. The main idea is that those positive and prosperous Russian bureaucrats want to crackdown on the social media company. Facebook is permitting its data producers to use such phrases as “death to the Russian invaders.” A vacation in Sochi for the Zuck team may not be a very good idea in my opinion. You can read more in “Russia Asks Court to Label Facebook, Instagram as Extremist.”
So what special about this series of legal matters?
- US officials want to take action against Facebook
- UK officials want to take action against Facebook
- Russia (a country engaged in freeing Ukraine) wants to take action against Facebook.
That’s a trifecta for the Zuck. Few admitted to Harvard achieve such heights. Losing billions in a day and now funding legal eagles across half the globe — achievements to note.
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2022
Amazon: Does the Online Bookstore Sell Petards?
March 14, 2022
What happens when an Amazon wizard says something that allows a real news outfit to write:
In 2020, Jeff Bezos, then the company’s CEO, told the committee Amazon doesn’t allow staff to use data from individual sellers to make competing products, but couldn’t guarantee “that policy has never been violated.” Executives also said in testimony that the company doesn’t use seller data to copy products and then promote its versions in search results, despite reports to the contrary. Source: “DOJ Asked to Investigate Amazon over Possible Obstruction of Congress”?
What’s a petard? A search of Amazon reveals that it thinks it is a way to find a book in French which seems like to inflame Tennessee local school board officials. See “Peanut Butter: The Journal de Molly Fredickson”.
The petard of which I am thinking is “hoist by your own petard.” It means, according to the Free Dictionary:
Injured, ruined, or defeated by one’s own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; having fallen victim to one’s own trap or schemes. (“Hoist” in this instance is the past participle of the archaic verb “hoist,” meaning to be raised or lifted up. A “petard” was a bell-shaped explosive used to breach walls, doors, and so on.)
Saying one thing under oath and having elected officials learn facts that suggest otherwise is not a credibility booster.
Would senior wizards for the online bookstore dissemble?
Yep, just like some other executives when they say, “Senator, thank you for that question. I don’t know, but I will get back to you.”
Stephen E Arnold, March 14, 2022
NSO Group: Sued by an Outfit with Deep Pockets
March 9, 2022
Now NSO Groups has an opportunity to see how legal eagles flock when Tim Apple says, “Let’s take NSO Group to court.” Tim Apple seems like such a nice person, but appearances can be deceiving.
A short news item from the Thomson Reuters outfit which wants me to trust them published “Apple Files Lawsuit against NSO Group, Saying US Citizens Were Targets.” Is this true? Tim Apple appears to believe that NSO Group took this action, but did NSO Group? NSO Group, like Time Apple’s outfit, makes software. NSO Group then licenses its system and platform to government entities. Following this logic, Tim Apple has to prove that NSO Group did the spying. But I am no lawyer, so maybe Apple’s actual approach is different from what appeared in the news story from the news organization that wants my trust.
I don’t trust too many people, and I certainly don’t trust those in the “real” news game. My point about the Tim Apple story is that once again the NSO Group is in the public eye. More specifically an outfit called OSY Technologies is named and sharing the NSO Spotlight.
I have been clear and consistent that the marketing infused MBA thought processes of some specialized software companies was off base. I long for the good old days when vendors of technology purpose built to meet the needs of intelligence and law enforcement agencies was essentially secret. I remember the good old days of specialist conferences when people from Trovicor would stop talking when an unfamiliar face walked by the booth. No more. If I walk by a booth I could score a baseball cap with a logo or get a T shirt with a cute message and the vendor’s logo.
How about a week without the NSO Group? Unfortunately the knock on effects of hyper active people trying to make big money from a finite customer base has put intelware on the equivalent of a 24 hour Twitter stream, a Telegram public group message, and the billboard in Times Square.
The publicity is bad. The litigation, if it takes place, ensures that intelware will become more well known. I can hardly wait for diagrams showing how the NSO Group platform interacts with its software on a target’s mobile device.
Will bad actors pay attention? Oh, boy, will they. I don’t need synthetic data, a Bayesian engine, and some smart software to understand that more downside exists now than before I read the real news about Tim Apple’s flock of lawyers preparing to circle what might be a possible meal.
Stephen E Arnold, March 9, 2022
Stephen E Arnold
NSO Group: Now Taking Legal Action to Protect Its Image
February 28, 2022
I am not sure how long this story will be online with legal eagles from media and the intelware company NSO Group taking flight. The story is “NSO Sues Israeli Paper after Explosive Articles on Police.” [Note: The estimable Associated Press may remove the MFTV 9 story or put it behind a paywall where great content should thrive.] The original story whipped up a buzz saw of chatter about one of the more high profile surveillance systems. The Pegasus brand has been trampled by the plodding mules ridden by individuals unaware of the specialized software and services business, their customers, and the unreasonable effectiveness of zero click exploits.
The write up states that NSO Group went to court and demanded that the Calcalist be held to account for a story which is allegedly not true.
And what does NSO Group want? About $300,000 US dollars.
This is an interesting story with security and political implications. But the Kosher Mehadrin margarine on the kubaneh is the charity angle. Is that a PR move by NSO Group?
What’s fascinating to me is that the NSO Group has found a way to remain in the news despite recent events in Ukraine, financial turmoil in financial markets, and the headline making mask wearing thing.
Is this helping or hurting the intelware and policeware vendors? From what I hear, the NSO Group’s PR generating activities has not had a significant impact on vendors based outside of Tel Aviv. Israeli vendors find that some of their MBA-inspired enthusiasm for expanding their market share has been dialed back.
A bigger problem for specialized services and software companies is that knowledge has diffused widely so that start ups operated by good actors and maybe less good actors are popping up. Plus, some of the once secret systems and methods are creeping into the open source software environment.
Maybe secrecy has some value when it comes to government related activities?
Stephen E Arnold, February 28, 2022
France Wants Another Google PEZ Pellet
February 16, 2022
The craving for Google cash bundles is amusing. “France’s Privacy Watchdog Latest to Find Google Analytics Breaches GDPR” explains:
The French data protection watchdog, the CNIL, said today that an unnamed local website’s use of Google Analytics is non-compliant with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — breaching Article 44 which covers personal data transfers outside the bloc to so-called third countries which are not considered to have essentially equivalent privacy protections.
What will Googzilla do? Threaten to pull out of Europe like the Zuckers? Pay up? Drag the matter through the highly efficient French legal system?
Probably all three options. France will continue punching the PEZ dispenser for Google outputs.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2022
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