The VPN Empire Built By Intelligence Agents (and their 'best' product was spyware)
Posted by freedomforall 2 years, 6 months ago to Technology
Excerpt:
"Another stain tarnishing its reputation among cyber security experts emerged the day following its acquisition of ExpressVPN. On September 14, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had provided a deferred prosecution agreement to ExpressVPN CIO Daniel Gericke. The agreement, which included a $335,000 fine and the revocation of Gericke's security clearance given to him during his time as an NSA agent, was the result of his prosecution for charges related to his involvement as a mercenary hired by the United Arab Emirates. Gericke was hired as a hacker for hire under Project Raven. The UAE recruited over a dozen former US intelligent operations as part of this operation to spy on opponents of the nation's monarchy by deploying software capable of hacking into smartphones similar to the Israeli-developed Pegasus hacking tool uncovered in July. Despite Gericke's deferred prosecution agreement, ExpressVPN has stated that he will be remain with the company as its CIO, citing that his background as a hacker in Project Raven conveys that he possesses the skills necessary to implement safeguards to protect the users of their service.
Kape Technologies' monopolization of VPN services into a singular technocratic empire conveys a centralization which jeopardizes the cyber security of its users and across the Internet as a whole. Beyond that, the company's origins highlight how deeply immersed technology companies with large market shares are with intelligence agencies both foreign and abroad. For users seeking a solution to their cyber security concerns, the visibility of these issues that Kape Technologies' growing profile brings should serve as a forewarning against signing up for their services. The question then becomes how to find a viable alternative given the resources that governments across the world have put into assembling controlled opposition to the Orwellian security state they have constructed."
"Another stain tarnishing its reputation among cyber security experts emerged the day following its acquisition of ExpressVPN. On September 14, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had provided a deferred prosecution agreement to ExpressVPN CIO Daniel Gericke. The agreement, which included a $335,000 fine and the revocation of Gericke's security clearance given to him during his time as an NSA agent, was the result of his prosecution for charges related to his involvement as a mercenary hired by the United Arab Emirates. Gericke was hired as a hacker for hire under Project Raven. The UAE recruited over a dozen former US intelligent operations as part of this operation to spy on opponents of the nation's monarchy by deploying software capable of hacking into smartphones similar to the Israeli-developed Pegasus hacking tool uncovered in July. Despite Gericke's deferred prosecution agreement, ExpressVPN has stated that he will be remain with the company as its CIO, citing that his background as a hacker in Project Raven conveys that he possesses the skills necessary to implement safeguards to protect the users of their service.
Kape Technologies' monopolization of VPN services into a singular technocratic empire conveys a centralization which jeopardizes the cyber security of its users and across the Internet as a whole. Beyond that, the company's origins highlight how deeply immersed technology companies with large market shares are with intelligence agencies both foreign and abroad. For users seeking a solution to their cyber security concerns, the visibility of these issues that Kape Technologies' growing profile brings should serve as a forewarning against signing up for their services. The question then becomes how to find a viable alternative given the resources that governments across the world have put into assembling controlled opposition to the Orwellian security state they have constructed."
