US immigration agents will have access to one of the world’s most sophisticated hacking tools after a decision by the Trump administration to move ahead with a contract with Paragon Solutions, a company founded in Israel which makes spyware that can be used to hack into any mobile phone – including encrypted applications.
The Department of Homeland Security first entered into a contract with Paragon, now owned by a US firm, in late 2024, under the Biden administration. But the $2m contract was put on hold pending a compliance review to make sure it adhered to an executive order that restricts the US government’s use of spyware, Wired reported at the time.
That pause has now been lifted, according to public procurement documents, which list US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as the contracting agency.
I already know the answer to this, but I’m going to ask if anyway.
How did we go from the most paranoid group of people choosing death over vaccinations bc of government surveillance conspiracies, literally storming the capital in an uprising over false rumors, and now that we have multiple confirmations of the most insane and ongoing 1984 government surveillance programs: fucking crickets?
Because the people spreading the first conspiracy are also the people doing the second.
It’s a cult.
Who think that these methods and policies will never be targeted at them because they are white and so were their grandparents.
It’s always projection. They always assume the other side is doing what they do or plan to do. They tell on themselves years in advance.
Fucking crickets is tough, wrap some tape around them first so they don’t burst.
Brainless idiots
Found an article that says this software is usually in-memory only and restarting regularly will purge it (obviously you could get reinfected): ~~https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-meta-secretly-scanning-your-phones-camera-roll-check-this-setting-to-find-out/~~
Edit: wrong article, someone replied with the correct one
After I didn’t see the mentioned content I looked around Zdnet, and I think you might have meant to link this article instead:
Bad click, it happens. Good article, though. Thanks!
So weird. I don’t even remember viewing that article. Maybe it was a link just above my address bar.
Every early morning. Mine is right before my alarm goes off, so the notification sounds just meld.
Also, no one should be using biometric data to log into thier phones. 6 digit pin isn’t very obtrusive once you get used to it
6 digit pin will be broken in less than 40 minutes by a graybox. A 6-digit pin is way more vulnerable than someone who uses a 30-digit password + biometrics
edit: sorry it’s instantly in 2025 https://www.hivesystems.com/blog/are-your-passwords-in-the-green
Sure bro, put a 30 character password into your phone every time you want to find the nearest fucking coffee shop.
edit: I guess I should explain. I’m into privacy not necessarily absolute security. If a cop wants in my phone I forgot my PIN. There’s no biometric to get into it so he’s going to have to get a warrant if he wants anything to actually stick. With face ID he just holds it up to my face. With fingerprint he can force my finger onto the sensor. In the USA, don’t know about Europe.
I just needed this info out there, I don’t really care what you do - I just need to make sure Lemmy stays safe and you’re spouting leaky insecurity disguised as best practices.
Best of luck
I think I just leaked a little right now. I don’t believe you have a 30 character unlock on your phone. That doesn’t make sense on a device someone uses multiple times a day in one hand at like a bus stop or something.
And I’m no security professional, just some dumbass out in the street.
Of course I do. FaceID allows me to input it exactly once a week, sometimes less.
What don’t you understand?
Wait, so you’re using faceid but you think you’re secure?
Are you stupid?
I use a 15 character pw with a mix of upper and lower case, numbers, and symbols, which according to that link is pretty damn good.
On a phone. On the lock screen. Every time.
Nah, I don’t buy it.
30 characters is like five words. Entirely doable. You can take your favorite TV show, sort character names by some logic and mispell a few of them to make a very strong very long password.
With biometrics I only enter it once a week, at the very most. It’s insane to me that people want their phones to be less secure, but best of luck to you and your super secure TSA lock on your phone lol
'the fuck kind of biometric unlock is that? I’m actually curious what you’re using.
FaceID on an iPhone
So the cop can just use that FaceID to unlock your phone?
If you’re in the USA and a cop gets your phone they’re going to pop it onto a graybox and will be digging through your shit up to their elbows. I wish I were wrong
That’s fine. I didn’t help them.
Hope your high horse can get a job and feed your family when you lose your government career over an edgy Modern Warfare 3 chat lobby
how does my high horse feel when it’s riding over you, sub bitch?
deleted by creator
worthless when there’s cameras in every corner that record as you unlock your phone all 40 times through the day
Fuck you too, buddy. You’re being recorded as you input your absurdly long password into your phone. They probably got it on camera. haha
my password? which one? I very rarely type any passwords in public… but fuck me for having forethought!
This motherfucker runs to the bathroom to unlock his phone
https://docs.mvt.re/en/latest/
Stay safe, stay ungovernable.
We’re not getting out of this without rivers of blood. Sorry just being realistic
For the Democrats/liberals who think they’re leftist in the room, note that this done by Biden, how it was put on hold for review so that news spread and pacifies the anger, and how it came back stronger when you forgot about it. And now Democrats will shrug and say “Trump is in charge, we’re powerles.”
Democrats are not your friends, they are not a lesser evil, we need a revolution.
Based on what has already happened, I’d definitely say Dems are the lesser evil. That’s literally what this means in this context. Still evil, just not as much as Donald dump.
Not defending democrats here, but it says it was halted pending reviews. I would say at least the democrats have some sense of following rules, while under the Trump administration, these were immediately lifted.
Make of it what you will, but it’s pretty clear that following the laws/rules is a thing of the past in the US of A.
They have theatrics, it would have ended up the same way if Biden/Harris won. Democrats (Biden) introduced it in the first place, and your instinct is still to believe they opposed it?
Dems didn’t invent ice.
Nor Epstein
Nor trump.
Voters need to take some culpability to their own mistakes here and stop blaming it on anyone else but themselves for this shit show they created.
ICE was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. 90-9 in the senate and 42 Yeas came from Dems.
And how many from the republicans?
Fascists gonna fasc. They will continue to fasc until somebody decides they’ve had enough.
Can I get a pirated copy so I can finally root my motorola moto z3 running android 9 then ?
Anyone got the torrent ?Fun fact: Americans benefited from Nazi technology after World War II as well.
It has also said it has a no tolerance policy and will cut off government clients who use the spyware to target members of civil society, such as journalists
Citizen Labs confirmed joirnalists have been targeted
Nice of The Guardian to repeat their obvious lie without immediately calling it out. This is just NSO Group 2.0. They’re moving all the engineers over because even the US was willing to sanction NSO Group after everything they did
this just brings them on par with local LEOs. these cabinets have charging ports and run brute force attacks on pins and passcodes, at least the simplest and cheapest options do.
Very surprising from the country of freedom
Yeah to hell when they’re belong freaking hypocrites always trying to silence the truth about killing in Gaza
Biden helped this happen. Don’t forget, voters. We need a real candidate in 2028.
Blaming it on dems that you voted Republican?
It’s your finger on the trigger with the gun to your own head. That’s not biden’s. This is how people with mental illness sociopathy reason their actions. Manipulation and unreasonable rules that never hold themselves accountable to themselves.
Historically, NSO has avoided selling to US-based clients and was banned by the US Commerce Department under President Joe Biden’s administration for allegedly supplying spyware to authoritarian governments. However, shifting political dynamics under the Trump administration raised the possibility that spyware could become more prevalent in the United States, exacerbating mobile exploitation
And for anyone else, anywhere in the world.
Giving governments tools to fight crime that can also invade your privacy is a sure path to governments invading your privacy for any reason they deem righteous. If not the current one, surely the next one.
Ah yes, another trump is the solution
I don’t think that’s what they’re saying
No no, anytime someone criticizes a democrat it’s because they love Trump. The democrats are infallible and above reproach you see, so the only reason you’d say anything they ever did was bad it’s because you’re a nazi childkiller who wants a dictator.
It’s probably not dangerous at all that we’ve positioned the US as either “uncritical support of the dems or you’re a nazi,” letting a party become unquestionable is good for sure, nothing bad could ever come of that.
I, for one, unquestionably support whatever group gets me upvotes on social media. Gavin Newsom to the moon!
Seriously though, neither party seems interested in fielding a good candidate. My request isn’t ridiculous, I just want someone who loves democracy and wants to make things better for Americans and the world.
Unfortunately, looking at our track record, it does seem that may be a ridiculous request lmao. I’m with you 100% on that though!
I’m not a fan of Bernie Sanders’ policies, but I would’ve voted for him had he won in 2016. I’m not a fan of many of Ron Paul’s policies, but again, I would’ve voted for him. Those two are polar opposites, but I believe both would do what they think is best for Americans and the world. But no, we got Clinton and Trump…
I just want someone who wants to serve the country, but instead they serve themselves and their party.
Oddly I agree, I’d have voted for either of those opposites as well. Though, I do agree with both of them on some things, and disagree with both of them on others.
Ideally I’d actually have them run together and temper each other’s views a little to land somewhere more reasonable, but no we have to pick from the two of the worst, most self serving people available instead.
Thank god! Israel is our greatest ally.
When politicians say “israel is our greatest ally” they aren’t lying.
Their definition of “our” just doesn’t include us
