Mexico Has Its Spyware. A Reporter Has a Few Phones to Juggle.
- 6 years ago
Mexico Has Its Spyware. A Reporter Has a Few Phones to Juggle.
I’m pretty sure I was sent Pegasus, the spyware purchased by the Mexican government, and though I’ve wiped that phone and replaced it, I’m cautious.
When I was previously in Kabul, Afghanistan, a few of the other reporters teased me for using it,
but I’ve found it reassuring to always have my whereabouts available when I’m in remote areas without any service — especially if it’s a violent area or one where kidnapping is a possibility.
There’s no doubt it is using technology for surveillance, nor is there any doubt
that it is paying exorbitant sums for it, as seen by various contracts made public and emails related to the government’s purchases of Hacking Team software that leaked a few years back.
I’ve never been an early adopter of the latest tech “it” item; my phones are really the only technology I can’t function without.
My phone and the various messaging apps that I use are the only truly indispensable technology I have.
The government has a long history of heavy-handed surveillance, and its use of technology is just the latest iteration of that.
So if you don’t find the best way to get through it, you’re going to spend some nauseating hours stuck in the car.
I’m pretty sure I was sent Pegasus, the spyware purchased by the Mexican government, and though I’ve wiped that phone and replaced it, I’m cautious.
When I was previously in Kabul, Afghanistan, a few of the other reporters teased me for using it,
but I’ve found it reassuring to always have my whereabouts available when I’m in remote areas without any service — especially if it’s a violent area or one where kidnapping is a possibility.
There’s no doubt it is using technology for surveillance, nor is there any doubt
that it is paying exorbitant sums for it, as seen by various contracts made public and emails related to the government’s purchases of Hacking Team software that leaked a few years back.
I’ve never been an early adopter of the latest tech “it” item; my phones are really the only technology I can’t function without.
My phone and the various messaging apps that I use are the only truly indispensable technology I have.
The government has a long history of heavy-handed surveillance, and its use of technology is just the latest iteration of that.
So if you don’t find the best way to get through it, you’re going to spend some nauseating hours stuck in the car.