Unlike the predictability of a Bond film, if there’s one thing that is certain right
now it’s uncertainty and that is definitely true when it comes to wealth protection.
Most experts agree that diversification is key in the current climate.
But how do you diversify with uncorrelated assets?
Well one solution is today’s sponsor, Masterworks.
Founded by a Top-100 art collector and tech entrepreneur, they’ve created a way to invest
in blue chip art – a market that is usually reserved for millionaires.
Masterworks democratizes the art market by giving people like you and me access to the
type of investment that millionaires and billionaires have been enjoying for generations.
With Masterworks you can buy shares that represent an investment in iconic works by artists such
as Andy Warhol, Kaws or Banksy.
It’s obviously an interesting platform, but some may think it’s too expensive to
get access to.
Well I want to put this notion to rest.
Here’s how Masterworks does it: Masterworks research team analyzes over 60,000
data points to find financially attractive works that they believe will appreciate in
value.
Then Masterworks acquires paintings ranging from $1 million to $30 million and securitizes
them by filing a public offering with the SEC.
While no one can predict the future and the fact that past performance is not indicative
of future results, contemporary art prices have appreciated in value by 14% for the last
25 years.
In fact contemporary art prices outpaced the S&P 500 total return by 164% from 1995 to
2021.[graph from the website’s homepage]
You can gain priority access by clicking our link in the description.
You can get started and manage your account all online.
So, go check it out!
And as always, in everything related to investment: tread carefully.Nothing is risk-free.
Have you ever heard of the Pegasus spy system developed in Israel?
I'm sure many of you have heard of the Pegasus system.
If only because we’ve mentioned it here on VisualPolitik several times.
For example in this video we tell you how Saudi Arabia used precisely this software
developed by the Israeli company, NSO Group, to spy on Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist
who was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.This is something that
was denied again and again by the NSO group, but that finally could be accredited to the
framework of the so-called Project Pegasus on 18 July 2021.
We are talking about research conducted by a consortium of journalists belonging to 17
media groups from various countries around the world.
An investigation whose conclusions, believe me, would make the hair on the back of your
neck stand on end.
(Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide.
Washington Post)
The Pegasus Project has investigated the leak of a list of 50,000 phone numbers.
These 50,000 phone numbers would have been tagged by several governments as targets to
be spied on by this software of Israeli origin.
Specifically, the investigation points directly to the governments of 10 different countries,
which have allegedly misused this software to persecute journalists, opponents and political
activists without any controls in place.
For example, one of them is Saudi Arabia.
And yes, among the numbers spied on was that of Khashoggi's wife.
Pay attention here, because we are also talking about espionage at the highest level.
For example, you all know that India and Pakistan are two countries with nuclear weapons that
get along terribly, right?
Well, look at how things stand.
N2 (Pakistan Wades Into Pegasus Row; Accuses India of Spying on Imran Khan, Demands UN
Probe.
Republic World)
Imran Khan is none other than the prime minister of Pakistan.
And of course, the Indian government is one of the 10 governments targeted by the Pegasus
Project.
However, this whole story goes much further than that.
I assure you that, after this video, many of you will begin to see the 007 movies with
completely different eyes.
So without further ado, we have a few questions to answer:
What does the Pegasus software consist of and what exactly has it been used for?
More importantly, how has the new Israeli government reacted to the Pegasus Project
revelations?
In this video we will answer all these questions, but first, let's take a look at some history.
(SPECTRE)
If you've seen the Bond movie, Spectre, you'll recall that the film's subplot revolves around
a massive espionage program that goes by the name of the Nine Eyes.
In the film, the nine major powers of the world negotiate its implementation to fight
terrorism.
Well, it seems that some computer engineer from the NSO group in Israel must have seen
the movie and, as we say around here: No sooner said than done.
The latest technological developments from the NSO group allow access to private phones
by way of "zero-click" attacks.
That is, the victim of espionage does not even have to open a malicious link to fall
into the clutches of this software.
Furthermore, from the moment the phone is infected with Pegasus, the paying customer
can take complete control of the device.
This allows him or her to extract the phone's messages, photos and emails.
It also allows that person to record your calls, secretly activate your cameras or microphones
and to read the content of encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal.
For example, in order to get their hands on Whatsapp conversations, this Israeli group
developed a program that allowed them to precisely emulate network traffic in the application.
This allowed them to transmit malicious code that was not detected by Whatsapp servers.
Just look at the reaction of the all-powerful Facebook, or Meta, or whatever it is called
now, when it discovered the ruse.
N3 (WhatsApp blames – and sues – mobile spyware maker NSO Group over its zero-day
calling exploit.
Techcrunch)
This lawsuit was filed in October 2019, almost two years before the Pegasus Project scandal
broke.
At the time, WhatsApp indicated that the Israeli company had attempted to hack at least 1,400
users.
C1 (This should serve as a wake-up call for technology companies, governments and all
internet users.
Tools that enable surveillance into our private lives are being abused, and the proliferation
of this technology into the hands of irresponsible companies and governments puts us all at risk.
Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp)
The fact is that the approximately 50,000 telephone numbers on the list investigated
by the Pegasus Project include a large number of pro-democracy activists, businessmen, public
figures and numerous political leaders, often, of course, opponents of the government of
the day.
Then another significant group on this list is that of journalists.
For example, the list shows that more than 180 journalists belonging to such leading
media outlets as the Financial Times, the New York Times, The Economist and Reuters,
among many others, have been spied on.
And if this is already very serious, imagine how dangerous it can be to be spied on as
a journalist in a country like Mexico, a real hell for freedom of the press.
Well, you don't need to imagine it.
There is the very real case of Cecilio Pineda.
N4 (A Mexican journalist murdered in 2017 was previously spied on by the Pegasus software
- Morning Express)
You see, one of the abilities that Pegasus has is that, by allowing access to the phone's
sensors, the software's clients can also obtain a record of a person's movements and track
their location in real time with pinpoint accuracy.
In this way, Cecilio Pineda was killed at a car wash.
He had been targeted by a Mexican client weeks before his murder.
I'm sure you can guess what was never found.
That’s right, his phone.
Mexico was the country that spied on the most phone numbers with this system.
At least according to the published list.
For example, it is known that during the Peña Nieto administration, several government agencies
used Pegasus.
We are talking about more than 15,000 mobile phones.
Among the targets were numerous journalists, social activists and political leaders as
prominent as current President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The situation, by the way, gets a whole lot worse when analyzing the case of Tomás Zerón.
We are talking about the man identified as the key figure within the Peña Nieto Administration
for deciding government purchases of surveillance technologies.
That is, the person who thought spying on 15,000 Mexicans was a great idea.
Well, this official has been wanted for years for irregularities committed in the investigation
of the Ayotzinapa case, the disappearance of 43 students overnight.
Tomás Zerón played a decisive role in covering up what happened in Iguala.
And now he seems to have taken advantage of his business contacts.
N5 (Tomás Zerón, wanted by the Mexican justice system, takes refuge in Israel - Archyde)
The NSO Group claims that the software has only been sold to governments and security
agencies in some 40 countries for the sole purpose of preventing crime and terrorist
acts.
But of course, just as with Spectre, the danger of Pegasus is what happens when it falls into
the wrong hands.
The Israeli company fervently assures that it studies the human rights record of its
customers before selling them software.
NSO has even published excerpts from contracts with its customers stipulating that they must
only use its products for criminal and national security investigations.
But, of course, the point is that once the software is commercialized, NSO has no control
over which research is legitimate and which is not.
And it is clear that many governments do not intend to honor their contracts with NSO.
That said, I think it's time to learn which other governments have been targeted by the
Pegasus Project, don't you?
Well...
Listen up.
(ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE)
What is most striking is that the conclusions of the Pegasus Project align perfectly with
Israel's foreign policy in recent years.
For example, at the beginning we were telling you about the links between the Pegasus software
and Saudi Arabia, a connection that can be seen as part of the fight against Iran, their
great common enemy.
But, VisualPolitik fans, that's not all.
The investigation points directly to how Pegasus has been used by the Sunni monarchies with
which – surprise, surprise – Israel has recently managed to normalize diplomatic relations.
We are talking about Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
In fact, according to the research, these last two countries complete the podium of
the rulers who have spied on the most phones using Pegasus.
And once again, the biggest problem for both Israel and the NSO group is that you never
know what interests your client may have:
N6 ("Project Pegasus": Emmanuel Macron's mobile phone in Morocco's sights - The Canadian)
For example, those of you who regularly follow VisualPolitik will surely remember this past
video.
In it we told you that Morocco was using Israeli software to spy on thousands of phones, most
of them belonging to the Algerian elite.Then Pegasus has also been taken up by good friends
of Netanyahu.
I am referring in this case to the governments of Brazil, Hungary and India.
And also those of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Rwanda, which are not exactly role model countries.
With this in mind, it appears that agreements on cyber-surveillance were one of Netanyahu's
main assets when negotiating with foreign leaders.
Anyway, that's politics.
The thing is, research suggests that Viktor Orbán's Hungarian government uses Pegasus
in its so-called war against the media, targeting investigative journalists.
Of course, of course, there are countries where journalists are worse off like Morocco.
There, for example, is the case of Omar Radi who is currently imprisoned.
VideoPolitik fans, we are not talking about a minor issue.
Intimidating and harassing critics is now easier and cheaper thanks to technology.
And it is clear that, if nothing changes, intelligence and security agencies will continue
to use this type of software to spy on their citizens.
And that’s not all.
It can also happen that you end up creating a state within the state itself.
You don’t follow me?
Well...
Take a look.
N7(Project Pegasus: the king of Morocco and his entourage on the list of potential spyware
targets - NDTV)
Well, a month before the Pegasus Project scandal broke, a new government was formed in Israel,
bringing the Netanyahu era to an end.
[Well, a pause at least]
The point is that the new Executive found itself in a lot of hot water.
Israel's 2007 Defence Export Control Law requires companies to undergo a rigorous licensing
process.
It was passed after the United States complained that Israel was selling arms to China.
But of course, looking at what has happened...
It doesn't seem that the controls have been efficient, exactly.
This is something they are already beginning to realize in Israel.
Even within the government itself.
N8 (Diaspora affairs minister: NSO spyware scandal causing harm to Israel's diplomatic
interests.
Times Of Israel)
Okay, this man is not exactly the most important minister in the Executive.
After all, in Israel there are 27 ministers in an 8-party coalition Executive.
But, hey, his complaint is there.
By the way, the publication of the findings of the Pegasus Project has been a direct torpedo
to the NSO Group.
And not only for the company itself.
Its main shareholder since early 2019 has been Novalpina Capital, a British private
equity firm that bought a majority stake in the Israeli group.
In fact, at the time, the implied valuation of the transaction placed NSO in the exclusive
unicorn club, that is, start-ups reaching a value of more than $1 billion.
Well, the espionage scandal has also shaken the owners directly.
N9 (US consultants lined up to run fund that owns Israeli spyware company NSO.
The Guardian)
The largest investor in Novalpina Capital is none other than the public pension fund
of the state of Oregon, USA.
A fund whose managers are now very concerned about the future of their investments.
But having said that, the question is, what does the new Israeli government intend to
do?
Well...
Listen up.
3 (LIVE AND LET DIE)
The cybersecurity industry is booming in Israel.
According to YL Ventures, a venture capital firm, startups from the Hebrew State raised
a record of almost $9 billion in 2021.
In addition, nine companies from the Hebrew country entered the select club of the world's
unicorns.
The success of this industry also extends into the political arena.
The new Israeli government has close ties to cyber security.
This plays in the NSO group's favor.
For example, the current prime minister, Naftali Bennett, became a billionaire by selling the
online security company specializing in the banking sector that he had founded.
But, it turns out, Bennett is not the only one.
Ayelet Shaked, Bennett's right-hand woman and current Minister of Interior, is a software
engineer who made a career in Tel Aviv's high-tech industry.
She is also a close friend of Shiri Dolev, the president of NSO.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, retired General Benny Gantz, was the president of
Fifth Dimension, a company that specialized in tracking smartphones through spyware for
police and anti-terrorist purposes.
Fifth Dimension is now defunct.
But another guy who was high up in the company and even a big shot in Mossad, Ram Ben Barak,
currently chairs the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Israeli Parliament.
Which is precisely the committee in charge of overseeing the country's cyber exports.
As you can see, the ties between the private cybersecurity sector and public institutions
are very close.
So what happened in early November leaves the Israeli government in a very uncomfortable
position.
N10 (US blacklists Israeli firm NSO Group for use of spyware.
CNN)
We are talking about the same trade sanctions blacklist on which Huawei, the large Chinese
telecommunications company, is on.
This means that the use of US technology in NSO Group products is totally prohibited.
The Israeli government's reaction to the Pegasus software was the same as always:
ensure that all Israeli cyber exports are regulated by the government in compliance
with international agreements.
This was recently stressed by Yair Lapid, the current foreign minister who will become
Israel's next prime minister in accordance with government rotation agreements.
However, the Biden Administration's move has had direct consequences for NSO.
Moody's downgraded the company's debt rating to junk bonds.
According to the credit rating agency, NSO is heavily dependent on the new sales of licenses
for its software, something that will be increasingly difficult to achieve given the measures taken
by the United States.
So, bad news for Oregon's future pensioners.
N11 (Israel's NSO Group at risk of 'defaulting' on $500m after US blacklisting.
Times Of Israel)
The latest company to sue the NSO group for spying on users of its devices is none other
than Apple.
International pressure is mounting.
We are talking about perhaps one of the great failures or mistakes in Israel's technology
policy.
Despite this, it is surprising that hardly any action is being taken.
But wait a minute, because on 18 January 2022, a bombshell news item came to light that could
change everything.
N12 (Israel police uses NSO's Pegasus to spy on citizens.
Calcalistech)
Among the victims appear to be some mayors and political activists, as well as former
government employees.
They were reportedly able to be spied on without any search or wiretap warrant authorizing
the surveillance.
It is assumed that Israel will now have to take action.
VisualPolitik fans, technology is advancing and improving our lives.
Israel's contribution to this evolution is simply formidable.
But sometimes things can get out of hand.
This looks like a case of a huge flaw in the security protocols.
After all, putting software like this in hands like the individuals we've seen doesn't seem
like the best idea, does it??
The question now is: What do you think Israel should do with the Pegasus software?
You can leave me your answer in the comments.
As always, if you found the video interesting, please like it and don't forget to subscribe
to VisualPolitik.
Best regards and see you next time.