John Scott-Railton

How are you?

How are you?

You know, the thing I did first was neuroscience. That was my old thing. No way. Yeah.

You know, the thing I did first was neuroscience. That was my old thing. No way. Yeah.

And one of the big things, so I was working on neuroplasticity and one of the big things that is known about the brain is that anxiety suppresses plasticity and the suppression of plasticity is a good candidate for one of the major causes of depression.

And one of the big things, so I was working on neuroplasticity and one of the big things that is known about the brain is that anxiety suppresses plasticity and the suppression of plasticity is a good candidate for one of the major causes of depression.

I like to call it mercenary spyware, although I've noticed that a lot of other groups call it commercial spyware. But I like the mercenary term in part because it denotes the idea that these people are probably working for states, whereas commercial, to my ear, could refer to a much broader category of things.

I like to call it mercenary spyware, although I've noticed that a lot of other groups call it commercial spyware. But I like the mercenary term in part because it denotes the idea that these people are probably working for states, whereas commercial, to my ear, could refer to a much broader category of things.

That's right, and I like to frame it sort of like this. After Snowden, a lot of governments... who didn't really know all the cool toys that the US government had, suddenly not only learned, but were like, hey, I got to get some of that. And you have this other dynamic, which is kind of like the first generations of people working within tier one government programs, developing exploitation tools.

That's right, and I like to frame it sort of like this. After Snowden, a lot of governments... who didn't really know all the cool toys that the US government had, suddenly not only learned, but were like, hey, I got to get some of that. And you have this other dynamic, which is kind of like the first generations of people working within tier one government programs, developing exploitation tools.

are starting to look for a bigger paycheck and a cushy approach to retirement. Thus begins this massive technology and knowledge transfer from some of the most developed cyber powers in the world towards the rest of the world. That's the proliferation as people, whether it's from American or German or Italian or British countries are like, hey, we could really make a business out of this stuff.

are starting to look for a bigger paycheck and a cushy approach to retirement. Thus begins this massive technology and knowledge transfer from some of the most developed cyber powers in the world towards the rest of the world. That's the proliferation as people, whether it's from American or German or Italian or British countries are like, hey, we could really make a business out of this stuff.

And then you add to that kind of this dramatic rise in Israel's high-tech sector combined with a really permissive environment towards export law, and you get yourself a global industry in this technology.

And then you add to that kind of this dramatic rise in Israel's high-tech sector combined with a really permissive environment towards export law, and you get yourself a global industry in this technology.

It's a stinky wind, yeah. Yeah. I think that in a democracy, the people who elect the government should have some degree of understanding of how much power the government has to completely pry into their personal lives and when the government can exercise that power. And what is so scary about mercenary spyware like Predator or Pegasus is that it offers a security service a total view

It's a stinky wind, yeah. Yeah. I think that in a democracy, the people who elect the government should have some degree of understanding of how much power the government has to completely pry into their personal lives and when the government can exercise that power. And what is so scary about mercenary spyware like Predator or Pegasus is that it offers a security service a total view

into a person's private world in ways that were never designed to respect existing law about search warrants or search seizures or anything like that, and can just provide that as a turnkey. So the intent really is to provide this total view on an individual.

into a person's private world in ways that were never designed to respect existing law about search warrants or search seizures or anything like that, and can just provide that as a turnkey. So the intent really is to provide this total view on an individual.

I think it's also the case that there are a lot of autocrats around the world who want this technology because they really want to hold on to power. And they recognize that making their citizens afraid of having their lives basically dumped out on the digital table silently and remotely without any warning is a core part of how they stay in power.

I think it's also the case that there are a lot of autocrats around the world who want this technology because they really want to hold on to power. And they recognize that making their citizens afraid of having their lives basically dumped out on the digital table silently and remotely without any warning is a core part of how they stay in power.