A knife can kill
but in the hands of a surgeon, it can also save a life
A knife has no
intentions – good or bad – only a “ capability “ .
Humans using the
knife have those “ intentions “
Apparently, certain
“ capability “ of Pegasus seems to have been used by humans having bad intentions
Can we find a way
to use that “ capability
“ to save mankind from militancy–hatred-violence–killings–murders – wars ?
YES
First, let us understand what Pegasus can do
Context :
Pegasus updated guide:
How it infects phones, what it does, how to detect and get rid of it /
India Today / 19 July 2021
Extract :
Ø The highly sophisticated spyware is meant to be a way to investigate terrorism
and crime. At least that is what its maker, Israel-based cyber-security
firm NSO Group, claims
Ø The question, however, many readers may
have is this: If you are using an iPhone or an Android, can Pegasus be used to monitor all your
data?
Ø It now adopts a different and more
sophisticated approach for reaching new targets. Shockingly, the new method does not require any input
from the target user. It
can infect a device by what is called a "zero-click" attack.
Ø The analysis by Amnesty International
shows the links for downloading the bits of Pegasus are hidden in the contents
of a message, or an image or the background data that apps often download on
phones without requiring any inputs from users.
Ø Once a smartphone is infected by it,
Pegasus can effectively monitor
any activity you perform on
it. This includes,
# reading or copying your messages,
# extracting your media
files,
# accessing your
browser history,
# recording your calls
and much more
Ø
It
can even turn the device into a surveillance
tool by turning on its microphone to,
# listen and record an on going conversation. Similarly, it can
# trigger the phone's
camera to record a video at any point in time.
Ø The spyware can even be used to,
# extract the exact location of a device, or the history of its
whereabouts.
This means an infected smartphone will effectively give out the locations that its user has visited in the
past or is currently at.
Ø In 2017 researchers at anti-virus company
Kaspersky wrote, "We're talking total
surveillance. Pegasus is modular malware. After scanning the target's
device, it installs the necessary modules to,
# read the user's
messages and mail,
# listen to calls,
# capture screenshots,
# log pressed keys,
# ex-filtrate browser
history, contacts, and so on and so forth.
# It can spy on every aspect
of the target's life.
# even listen to encrypted
audio streams
# read encrypted messages — thanks to its key-logging and audio
recording capabilities, it was
encrypted (and, for incoming messages, after decryption)."
Ø The crux is that a regular smartphone user will never be able to detect these, while the spyware will continue
to operate, leaking the user's data to the spyware
user.
Ø Cybersecurity experts have indicated
that a device infected by Pegasus might never be
able to recover from
it completely…. So the best option for victims of the spyware attack is to get rid of the infected device altogether
Now, let us see HOW
we can use this “ capability “ for
SAVING MANKIND
Here is what I envisaged some 5 YEARS ago :
Ø
Fast Forward to Future ( 3 F ) [ 20 Oct 2016 ]
Extract :
to carry one, all the time ), in the form a mobile app to be called ARIHANT
( ARIHANT = Conqueror of Kaam-Sex / Krodh-Anger / Lobh-Greed / Moh-
Desire / Mud-Ego / Matsar-Envy )
# 24*356, this technology will pick up ( record ), every single word spoken by
the owner,
throughout his life
# All these spoken words ( conversations ), will be transmitted to a CENTRAL
DATABASE called ,
“ MIND READER Of HUMAN INTENTIONS “
# There, the BIG DATA ANALYTICS / AI , will interpret those " Intentions " and
alert authorities for any EVIL
ROBOTICS, formulated by Isaac Asimov )
# Authorities will be alerted to arrest the owners of EVIL INTENTIONS ( captured
by ARIHANT )
If Google could
become a " Database
of written Intentions "
( through more than a billion typed Search Queries per day ),
then there is no reason to disbelieve that ARIHANT could become a
" Database of Spoken Intentions "
of the entire mankind ( may be a billion conversations, EVERY
SECOND ! )
And
since Google is a member of a consortium formed a few weeks back for
the advancement of AI , it will be too happy to integrate its own,
very powerful " Language
Translation Software "
into the ARIHANT
Fast forward to 2026
And what can stop ARIHANT from
picking up all exchanges of data communication, between those " powerful autonomous weapons " if they are embedded with IoE
enabled sensors and each assigned its own IP V 6 address ?
It is not enough to raise questions
about the potential evil usage of AI
We must find methods to prevent such
evil use of AI
Mankind must be saved !
RELATED READINGS :
Racing towards ARIHANT ? [ 04 Aug 2017 ]
to : Alphabet / from : ARIHANT [ 12 Oct 2017 ]
ARIHANT : on the
horizon ? [ 17 May 2018 ]
ARIHANT : Beyond “ Thought Experiment “ [ 21 May 2018 ]
Will ARIHANT humble the hackers ? [ 11 Feb 2019 ]
Faith
Renewed in ARIHANT [ 23 Dec 2019 ]
Balancing
: National Security vs Personal Privacy
[ 19 July 2021 ]
===========================================
Dear
Shri Ashwini Vaishnawji ( IT Minister / av.odisha@sansad.nic.in )
:
If a tiny Israeli company can come up
with Pegasus, I have no doubt that if challenged, (
Software Super-power ) India’s own tech giants ( TCS – INFOSYS – WIPRO etc ),
can come up with ARIHANT
Of course, if ARIHANT
has to apply to citizen of the entire world ( and not just Indian citizen ),
then the following issues will need a Global Debate among, not only the national governments of the World but by all
stake-holders :
Ø
Who ( which WORLD-AGENCY )
will own / operate / control ARIHANT ? UNSC
?
Ø
Where will the CENTRAL
DATABASE SERVER get located ? Duplicated ?
Ø
Will controlling agency share
its database with National Governments – even if restricted to data of its own
citizen ? Will that be aggregated and anonymized ?
Ø
Can any country’s Govt
request data about any of its specific citizen ?
Ø
How are such “ requests “ to
be treated when government of country “ I “ , suspects that certain citizen of country “ P “ , are scheming / plotting to harm its National Security
?
Ø
For such suspected “
Cross-border “ conspiracies, can country
“ I “ ask INTERPOL to collect data ( from
Central Server ) and – if satisfied – file a case in the International Court of Justice ?
Dear
Minister,
Getting all countries to reach a common
agreement ( like PARIS ACCORD on Climate Change / Global Warming ) to take
steps to prevent MISUSE of Pegasus, may not face much opposition
Getting some Indian Tech company to
develop ARIHANT can certainly not be a big deal
But getting all
countries of the World to reach an agreement on the questions raised by me
above, is likely to take many years unless the World faces IMMINENT collapse of CIVIL
ORDER all around ( - whose beginning we are already witnessing in
several middle-east countries ) – leading to affluent countries getting
over-run with millions of economically /
politically persecuted MIGRANTS
from countries torn asunder with CIVIL WARS ( albeit financed and supported by
those affluent countries ! )
But since, this is not a minor matter of surveillance of a few hundred
citizen ( in few countries ) but a question of SAVING
MANKIND, I believe it is India’s MORAL
OBLIGATION to initiate a dialogue ( as done in case of International
Solar Alliance )
And, as the
Minister in charge of IT , the knife is in your court !
With regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 21
July 2021