>>> UPDATE YOUR PHONE REGULARLY.
CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS.
MAKE YOUR PASSWORDS STRONG
PASSWORDS.
DONT CLICK ON LINKS IF YOU
DONT KNOW WHERE THEYRE FROM OR
YOU DONT KNOW WHERE THEYRE
LINKING TO.
IF YOU LIVE IN THE MODERN WORLD,
THESE ARE THE RULES WE HAVE BEEN
TOLD TO FOLLOW TO KEEP OUR
PHONES SAFE FROM HACKERS.
RIGHT?
WE HAVE TALKED OURSELVES INTO
THIS SORT OF CALMING STORY.
THAT THE WAY YOU CAN PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM BEING HACKED, FROM
BEING ROBBED, FROM BEING SPIED
ON THROUGH THE PHONE THAT YOU DO
EVERYTHING ON IS TO FOLLOW THOSE
KINDS OF RULES.
TO KEEP UP GOOD CYBER HYGIENE.
RIGHT?
HAVE TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
ON EVERYTHING.
HAVE GOOD PASSWORDS.
DONT GET PHISHED.
RIGHT?
ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE
DEFINITELY STILL GOOD THINGS TO
DO.
THEY ALL HAVE VALUE.
BUT TODAY SAW THE LAUNCH OF A
MASSIVE INTERNATIONAL REPORTING
PROJECT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS
APPARENTLY IN WIDE USE BY DOZENS
OF GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD,
AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT DEFEATS
ALL OF THOSE DEFENSES AND MORE.
ONE OF THE PARTNERS IN THIS
GIGANTIC REPORTING PROJECT IS
THE "WASHINGTON POST."
AND THE "POST" MADE A GOOD
SIMPLE VIDEO THEY LAUNCHED TODAY
IN WHICH THEY DESCRIBED WHAT I
MEAN HERE.
WATCH.
>> ONE OF THE MOST CONCERNING
THINGS ABOUT OUR REPORTING IS IT
IS CLEAR THERES NOW WHAT THEY
CALL ZERO CLICK ATTACKS.
THAT MEANS A MALICIOUS ACTOR
SENDS SOMETHING TO MY iPHONE,
FOR EXAMPLE.
IT COMES TO iMESSAGE.
BUT IT NEVER APPEARS ON
iMESSAGE.
RIGHT?
I DONT SEE IT.
I DONT HEAR IT.
THERES NO TIPOFF THAT THERES
SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING.
AND YET IT CAN GET IN AND IT CAN
BEGIN TO PEEL BACK THE LAYERS OF
ALL THE SECURITY ON YOUR iPHONE.
AND SO YOU DONT HAVE TO MAKE A
MISTAKE.
REALLY ALL OF US ARE VULNERABLE.
EVEN PEOPLE WITH RECENT DEVICES.
EVEN PEOPLE WHO DO THE RIGHT
THINGS AND LIKE KEEP UP THEIR
PASSWORDS AND MAKE SURE THAT
THEIR SOFTWARES UPDATED.
THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY CAN
STILL GET INTO YOUR DEVICES AND
TURN YOUR LIFE UPSIDE DOWN ON A
TABLE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE YOULL
NEVER MEET.
>> THE BIG SCARY SCI-FI-LIKE
WORRY OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS THAT
WITHOUT YOU DOING ANYTHING
WRONG, WITHOUT YOU NOTICING
ANYTHING DIFFERENT ON YOUR
PHONE, WITHOUT YOUR PHONE
APPEARING TO BE DIFFERENT IN ANY
WAY TO YOU, ALL OF A SUDDEN
EVERYTHING ON YOUR PHONE AND
EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER DONE ON
YOUR PHONE IS AVAILABLE TO
PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WISH YOU WELL.
THEY HAVE YOUR TEXTS, YOUR
CALLS.
THEY CAN EVEN RECORD THE AUDIO
OF YOUR CALLS.
YOUR VOICEMAILS, YOUR PHOTOS,
YOUR VIDEOS, YOUR LOCATION.
IN REAL TIME.
THEY CAN TURN ON THE MICROPHONE
OF YOUR PHONE REMOTELY.
THEY CAN TURN ON THE CAMERA OF
GROUP AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL,
ALONG WITH 16 OTHER NEWS OUTLETS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD LIKE THE
WIRE IN INDIA AND LEMONDE IN
FRANCE AND THE "WASHINGTON POST"
IN THE UNITED STATES.
BASICALLY, WHAT THIS REPORTING
PROJECT STARTS WITH IS THAT
THESE GROUPS OBTAINED A LIST OF
MORE THAN 50,000 PHONE NUMBERS
ASSOCIATED WITH DEVICES --
ASSOCIATED WITH PHONES THEY
BELIEVE MAY HAVE BEEN ATTACKED
WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY AND THEY
FARMED OUT THE WORK OF FIGURING
WHO THESE NUMBERS BELONG TO,
THEY FARMED IT OUT TO MORE THAN
80 JOURNALISTS ALL OVER THE
WORLD WHO THEN DID THE SHOE
LEATHER REPORTING.
AND WHAT THOSE REPORTERS AROUND
THE WORLD FOUND IS THAT ALTHOUGH
THIS TECHNOLOGY IS BEING
MARKETED BY THE ISRAELI FIRM
THAT MAKES IT, ITS BEING
MARKETED FOR USE BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND
COUNTERTERRORISM, IT APPEARS
INSTEAD THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS
BEING USED BY GOVERNMENTS TO
TARGET JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN
RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND OPPOSITION
FIGURES ALL AROUND THE GLOBE.
THE PRIVATE ISRAELI COMPANY THAT
LICENSES THIS TECHNOLOGY TO
GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE GLOBE
SAYS THEY DESIGNED IT SO IT
CANT ACCESS PHONES INSIDE THE
UNITED STATES.
THE COMPANY ALSO SAYS THAT ALL
OF THE REPORTING FROM ALL OF
THESE NEWS OUTLETS IS ALL BASED
ON WRONG ASSUMPTIONS AND
UNCORROBORATED THEORIES, THEY
DENY EVERYTHING.
THE QUESTION IS BECAUSE THIS
TECHNOLOGY EXISTS AND IS BEING
SOLD LIKE A WEAPON TO DOZENS OF
GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD, IS
THIS JUST WHAT THE FUTURE IS?
DO ALL OF US WHO USE SMARTPHONE
TECHNOLOGY HAVE TO ESSENTIALLY