Bill Marczak, Senior Researcher at The Citizen Lab
The mercenary spyware industry sells hacking tools and services to governments, purportedly to fight crime and terrorism. In some cases, the products are used this way. However, all too often, this powerful technology is abused to spy on dissidents, journalists, and political opposition. Despite bug-fixes, security mitigations, threat intelligence work, government regulations, and even sanctions, the industry's efforts continue apace, to the detriment of civil society. My talk will highlight the cat-and-mouse game between the mercenary spyware industry and the defenders, explaining the state of play, how we got here, and what the future may hold.
