In this episode, Dave Aitel introduces us to a deliciously shocking story about lawyers as victims -- and maybe co-conspirators -- in the hacking of law firms to win legal disputes. The trick, it turns out, is figuring out how to benefit from hacked documents without actually dirtying one's hands with the hacking. And here too, a Shakespearean Henry (II this time) has the answer: hire a private investigator and ask "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome litigant?" Before you know it, there's a doxing site full of useful evidence on the internet.
But first Dave digs into an intriguing but flawed story of how and why the White House ended up bigfooting a possible acquisition of NSO by L3Harris. Dave spots what looks like a simple fact error, and we are both convinced that the New York Times got only half the story. I suspect the White House was surprised by the leak, popped off about how bad an idea the deal was, and then was surprised to discover that its intelligence community had signaled support.
That leads us to the reason why NSO has continuing value – its ability to break Apple's phone security. Apple is now trying a new way to reinforce security: its new, more secure and less convenient lockdown mode. Dave gives it high marks, and he challenges Google to match Apple's move.
