5 ms·
I don't think you read it that closely, or are operating with the same biases as the author, as arguably yes, there are obvious inaccuracies. A simple example
by compsciphd 2y ago
I don't think you read it that closely, or are operating with the same biases as the author, as arguably yes, there are obvious inaccuracies.
A simple example
"Unit 8200, for example, has been the source of much of the world’s most infamous spying software, including Cellebrite and Pegasus"
Cellebrite and Pegasus aren't products of Unit 8200. They are not the source of them. At best one can say that alumni of 8200 created them (or if one wants to get the closest the source, "products" (i.e. alumni) of 8200 created them).
The language they use is not accurate and they do it purposefully to be inflammatory.
If they wanted to write Unit 8200 has trained a pipeline of people that these companies can gobble up, that would be accurate. But how is that fundamentally different than MIT, Stanford et al training a pipeline of people that go to big tech firms that also arguably violate privacy? Would we blame the schools for the privacy violations or simply blame the companies their alumni work for?
- ibash 2y agoI appreciate you pointing out the inaccuracies. Was actually hoping for that. > But how is that fundamentally different than MIT, Stanford et al training a pipeline of people that go to big tech firms that also arguably violate privacy? Unit 8200 is a military intelligence unit focused on online spying and hacking right? Isn’t the implied fundamental difference clear?
- tguvot 2y agoyou do know that MIT and a bunch of other us universities doing a bunch of military research/engineering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Affiliated_Research_Center?useskin=vector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Affiliated_Research... https://ras.mit.edu/grant-and-contract-administration/sponsor-information/department-defense https://ras.mit.edu/grant-and-contract-administration/sponso... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory?useskin=vector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Lincoln_Laboratory?useskin... you should also consider how much of different research about cybersecurity/hacking comes from universities.
- ibash 2y agoI do know that. But again, a military intelligence unit focused on spying is not equivalent to a university.
- tguvot 2y agogiven that universities produce hackers and military tech, i am not sure
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago/me thinks the 'zoning' is rather grey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Institute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Institute
- compsciphd 2y agothe point is that 8200 didn't create them. Alumni did. The wording of the article tries to imply that 8200 created them and perhaps were just marketed by private companies (the only way I can understand their wording). This simply isn't true. The point of comparing alumni of 8200 to a university was to give the more favorable reading to the concept of "product" of, but why I also dont think its a fair reading.
- JetSpiegel 2y agoWell, technically NSO needs permission from the government to sell Pegasus, so those aren't really "private companies" either. They are private arms of the state.