Comment by tptacek
1 day ago
Based on what you're saying, I think I know more about this market than you do. I'm comfortable with who does and does not take me seriously. For those people who do: this "Israel" stuff is not useful for understanding what's happening in the world with respect to CNE tools.
A long time ago, I went to my first (and only) Defcon conference. There was a speaker who had worked in the US government talking about state use of hacking tools.
After the talk I went up to him and asked, "What are the countries that are using these tools?" He looked at me with a certain amount of scorn and said, "All of them."
This obviously just has to be true. I have very strong evidence that it's true, but it's also just the most obvious possible conclusion to reach. Competitive CNE tooling even at the top of the market costs just a fraction of what you'd have to pay in benefits and overhead for the equivalent HUMINT operations.
Just out of curiosity - would you describe companies that are commonly in the spotlight as more mercenary than average?
Absolutely not. Some of them are far more ruthless, some of them much more principled.
I've seen you reference these actors previously. Is there a reason you won't name them? Is this an industry code of silence, or fear of retribution?
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