Nextcloud cries foul over Google Play Store app rejection
Article, Comments

https://ostechnix.com/ubuntu-25-10-sudo-rs/

#rust #Ubuntu #sudo

UK Government Issues Draft Strategic Priorities for Online “Safety,” Pressuring Ofcom to Enforce Censorship, Surveillance, and Age Verification Under Online Safety Act
https://ift.tt/qDEdYrn - FOLLOW: @reclaimthenet

Meta Reportedly Developing Facial Recognition for Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and Camera-Equipped Earphones, Enabling Scanning of Nearby Faces Without Consent
https://ift.tt/52GrzPU - FOLLOW: @reclaimthenet

Nintendo Can Now Remotely Shut Down Your Switch If You Try to Modify Your Own Device
https://ift.tt/fJwxVYK - FOLLOW: @reclaimthenet

A well written look at the pros and cons of #systemd

https://www.howtogeek.com/675569/why-linuxs-systemd-is-still-divisive-after-all-these-years/

@BonesTechGarage

As US vuln-tracking falters, EU enters with its own security bug database
Article, Comments

ETH Zurich researchers discover new security #vulnerability in #Intel processors
Article, Comments

#location of photos using #ai

In the US, an AI has been invented that pinpoints exactly where a photo was taken and shows that location in 3D. GeoSpy AI will help police and journalists.

Ireland Moves to Legalize Retrospective Facial Recognition
https://ift.tt/c1kQ2RI - FOLLOW: @reclaimthenet

The EU’s New “Democracy” Shield Looks a Lot Like a Speech Muzzle
https://ift.tt/5IVN8Hx - FOLLOW: @reclaimthenet

❗️Iran to sue Google over “Persian Gulf” distortion

Iran’s National Virtual Space Center announced plans to pursue legal action against Google and other platforms for replacing the term “Persian Gulf” with fabricated alternatives. The center’s spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, condemned the move as a deliberate falsification of a historically recognized name and a violation of Iran’s national identity.

Dalirian cited international recognition of the term, including by the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names, and warned that tampering with such nomenclature breaches international law, including Article 19(3) of the ICCPR. Legal consultations are underway.

■■■■□ Seven things we learned from #WhatsApp vs. #NSO Group #pegasus spyware lawsuit.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/13/seven-things-we-learned-from-whatsapp-vs-nso-group-spyware-lawsuit/

■■■■□ NSO Fallout

Between April and May 2019, NSO Group's Pegasus spyware targeted 1,223 WhatsApp users across 51 countries. The distribution of victims by country is as follows:

Country Number of Victims

Mexico 456
India 100
Bahrain 82
Morocco 69
Pakistan 58
Indonesia 54
Israel 51
Spain 12
Netherlands 11
Hungary 8
France 7
United Kingdom 2
United States 1


The majority of these victims were journalists, human rights defenders, and members of civil society. Notably, 456 victims were in Mexico, highlighting the extensive reach of the spyware.

A visual map detailing the global distribution of these victims was published by Amnesty International and other research groups.

This data underscores the widespread misuse of Pegasus spyware against individuals in numerous countries.



■■■■■ Here's a full technical rewrite of the WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware case, focusing on CVE-2019-3568, its exploitation logic, and WhatsApp’s patch implementation:
➿➿

CVE-2019-3568 – WhatsApp VoIP Stack RCE

Exploit Summary

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-3568

Vulnerability Type: Memory corruption – heap-based buffer overflow

Attack Vector:

Remote, via malformed RTCP (Real-time Transport Control Protocol) packets sent during a WhatsApp voice call

Impact:

Remote Code Execution (RCE) in WhatsApp process without user interaction (zero-click)

Platform:

Android and iOS WhatsApp clients

Patched:

WhatsApp v2.19.134 (Android) and v2.19.51 (iOS), May 2019.

➿➿

Exploitation Logic

1. Target Surface

Exploit leverages the libSRTP-based VoIP stack, which handles RTCP packets used for session feedback and control in encrypted voice calls.

RTCP parsing logic failed to sanitize certain control fields, especially those related to extended report block lengths and payload types.


2. Exploit Algorithm Flow

1. Attacker initiates WhatsApp voice call to target (call never needs to be answered).
2. During SIP/VoIP session setup, attacker injects a malformed RTCP packet:
- Payload includes an extended report (XR) with a length field that causes heap corruption.
- The data pointer is shifted to point into a controlled heap region.
3. Heap spray is used prior to the call to fill memory with ROP gadgets or shellcode.
4. WhatsApp’s VoIP thread parses the corrupted RTCP payload:
- Triggers a buffer overflow
- Hijacks return address via overwritten heap metadata
5. Final stage loader downloads and injects the Pegasus spyware binary into user space.

➿➿

Vulnerability Root Cause

A lack of proper bounds checking in srtp_unprotect() when handling compound RTCP packet lengths.

Specifically, incorrect handling of:

block_length in XR headers

packet size mismatch vs actual read buffer


ASLR and DEP were bypassed using dynamic heap shaping and ROP chains tailored to the victim’s device/OS version.


➿➿

Patch Details (May 2019)

WhatsApp Patch Analysis

Introduced stricter validation in the VoIP media engine:

Validated block_length and total_length fields in RTCP/XR headers

Rejected malformed RTCP packets that exceeded expected control sizes


Recompiled the VoIP library with stack canaries, PIE, RELRO, and hardened malloc on Android and iOS

Moved critical parsing logic out of untrusted network threads into a sandboxed process (in newer versions)


Net Result

Fully blocked the RTCP overflow path

Rendered Pegasus’s existing payload delivery channel ineffective

Led NSO to shift to other attack chains (like the “Heaven” WhatsApp impersonation method)

➿➿

Notable Tools Used by NSO Group

Tool Purpose

🤍WIS WhatsApp impersonator client (Heaven)
🤍Q&Q Toolset RTCP generator and packet modifier
🤍Pegasus Final payload with device takeover
🤍TraceStitch Heap layout prediction & ROP generator

➿➿

Forensics Indicators

Malformed rtcp packets seen in logs: unusual XR block types and lengths.

WhatsApp crash logs showing access violation in libwhatsapp.so VoIP thread.

Outbound connections to AWS/Vultr endpoints post-exploitation.

Extreme Privacy

5th edition

1200 pages of 2024 #privacy tips

Introducing oniux: Kernel-level Tor isolation for any Linux app

https://blog.torproject.org/introducing-oniux-tor-isolation-using-linux-namespaces/

Decentralization in Action: Odysee Welcomes the Independent Media Alliance to Portal

At Odysee, we’ve always believed in giving creators the tools to control their own destinies. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that the Independent Media Alliance (IMA) - a coalition led by Whitney Webb, Derrick Broze, and Ryan Cristián - will soon be launching its own Portal within our emerging Decentralized Media Ecosystem (DME).

This is more than just a new partnership. It’s a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when independent voices are equipped with the right tools to protect their editorial integrity and speak directly to their communities - without relying on the whims of centralized platforms or algorithmic gatekeepers.

https://odysee.com/@Odysee:8/welcomestheindependentmediaalliancetoportal:b

IMA: Artificial Intelligence And Its Influence On Research/Investigation

Today the Independent Media Alliance (#IMA) brings you a panel focusing on artificial intelligence and the many ways that it is influencing or entirely changing research and investigation, as well as the world at large. There are many powerful benefits that can come from utilizing #AI in research and very serious concerns many of us share about the potential downsides to its use as well. We will be taking an objective look at both the concerns and benefits.

Far too many seem to be taking the responses of AI chat bots at face value, with little or no interrogation, due to those behind their creation. Others will outright dismiss a data point due to its AI origin with no further investigation.

Today we will discuss how this tool is being used, how it may be influencing those who use it, and whether this AI future is indeed inevitable.

https://odysee.com/@theconsciousresistance:7/IMA-Artificial-Intelligence:0

https://www.bitchute.com/video/Hi1jwqw48zns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlzcEH4xJvs