This Text Can Hack Your Phone, Even If You Never Open It🎙Darknet Diaries Ep. 47: Project Raven

An ex-NSA hacker went to work for a private company in the United Arab Emirates. A good gig turned into some sketchy spy craft, including the super malware that can invade iPhones through un-opened text messages.
Visit darknetdiaries... for a list of sources, full transcripts, and to listen to all episodes.

[@zooyorkdanny]

I work 3rd shift and it's always pretty boring. Anytime you drop a video at night though it makes work a little more bearable. Thanks dude!

[@L_Train]

There are plenty more episodes on spotify

[@w花b]

@@L_Train yep, like...a good chunk compared to KZbin

[@wtfdoiputhere]

My favourite type of comments on this channel

[@SnapShotChris]

felt this

[@robertwells3797]

His videos are good cos we don't need to look at them and the topics are interesting!

[@woozy9221]

Just found this channel a few days ago and I have to say these stories have so much effort and depth put into them, yet are comprehensible to anybody! This channel is amazing keep up the great work

[@neciasilver5357]

Found this channel, and I've been addicted to it ever since, I've never been one to watch like "marthon" binging with anything tv or shows, wtv, but this got me, and im so excited to get on the podcast next

[@StephanieDavis-cy2ko]

I had some issues with my electronics- some of the things that we're happening as well as some of the things that I ended up finding were mind-boggling and sometimes even though I had the information in front of my face- we're just unbelievable to me- I am just a regular citizen- I am a nobody and yet these things were happening to me- from our government to the straight up everyday criminal crime is evolving and this needs to be exposed and the people need to be educated- This explains so much.... Great and informative presentation- Don't stop what you doing brother- you're amazing-

[@dix_pack_of_sixie]

You aren't alone in this experience. Believe me, their capabilities defy our current understanding of technological limits. The government watch lists enacted after the patriot act was passed have grown to now contain over 2 million American citizens on American soil. If you make this list, expect total and overwhelming compromise of every device in your vicinity. People who claim this is paranoid or delusional beliefs, can go research zersetsung and where the creators of it ended up and why. The efforts are being made to bring these abuses if power to the public forum for debate and hopefully some oversight into this violation of human rights, let alone civil rights.

[@garrett3117]

Criminally underrated show.

[@CONNECTSEOUK]

Ilove thw fact all the stories tie in together ,well narrated and researched.

[@Sahxocnsba]

Dude I love your outros. I can hear the fun in your voice with the wild things you're saying like the helmet wearer, or pewlett hackered. Like it's such a great way to end a podcast. I love it

[@tonygitonga7061]

I could be wrong but the country being targeted was Qatar, it was a couple years ago that they were suspected for funding terrorism, they also won the bid to host the 2022 Fifa world cup which is why UAE requested to investigate if they bribed for the bid.

[@dembasoumare4448]

Yep, I heard about that story before as per if they bribed for the bid.... All I can say this world best World Cup ever Qatar 2022

[@miliver-b2u]

yup me too i think that they are talking about qatar, basicaly there are a lot of political issues betweene uae and qatar

[@greenpedal370]

Well David is now considerably more hard nosed. thick skinned and wiser than he was. I say he owes the job a vote of thanks.

[@wolvenar]

It's fun hearing about others getting deep into what they're interested in like this.

[@raiden72]

Where u profile pic come from I remember it from surfboardhacker

[@repairstudio4940]

Nice, this is Niché ...a call in show via KZbin is great, like the old days of HAM Radio. Not many are doing this.... Love it.

[@lukasbruderlin2723]

a really good episode, probably the only one, that I've listened to the full end, at least being awake 😂

[@RydarkVoyager]

Funny stories (possibly) related to some of the red flags mentioned: I was a former DoD employee and software engineer (mostly defense industries), and left a position of 4 years to take a new job position as software architect. It was my FIRST day, and I get a phone call that morning from a recruiter who knew my name and work number (I hadn't even informed my significant other yet what the number was) and starts to interview me. I might've sent an application to the CIA while I was searching for the new job (the timing looks right) but since I hadn't gotten any feedback I had just crossed them off the list. The recruiter also didn't identify the employer, so all this could just be paranoia. The second was a feeler from another recruiter who asked if I wanted to spend 2 years in Saudi Arabia. Single at the time, but NO.

[@20chocsaday]

I've been on 4 Emirates flights and I prefer being home. Despite the weather.

[@jonnyh5858]

Yea prob for the best you would likely wind up working as geek squad for genocide in Yemen

[@tonyzone8999]

What do u mean might of sent an application. I’m pretty sure that’s something you would never forget

[@PWN_Nation]

Booz Allen has an entire business unit dedicated to this type of work in countries across the middle east. They stood this initiative up in the 2012-2014ish timeframe. And yes, it was basically pitched as a "build your own NSA" team. OSINT - especially non-offensive online collection like social media and other pattern-of-life analysis - is another HUGE capability that many nations are pouring a ton of money into...

[@coltoncycotte8681]

My guess would be that the exploit has something to do with the metadata of the message, such as the read receipts being altered with malicious code, so that the malicious code would be written to memory with no checks. That's just a guess though

[@ZedOne99]

I'm sure the NSA does this to any American citizen they need info on or foreign "threats".

[@StephanieDavis-cy2ko]

💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@Targeted_Individual_1]

Look up “Gang Stalking” and its roots. FBI COINTELPRO, V2K, & MK ULTRA.

[@Halfaloaf599]

Great content, great community. This is what KZbin was meant to be. Thank you for what you do.

[@dlawsAcer]

Love the NPR CarTalk inspired "Even though ... this is Darknet Diaries" close.

[@Yegorich]

I am so grateful to discover this channel! Amazing content

[@Sinyao]

The moment he mentioned sports bidding, I knew who this foreign country target was. Thanks for the new upload, Jack, any plans to cover the cyber warfare occurring in the Russo-Ukrainian war or Russian attacks on Baltic states' infrastructure in the past decade?

[@Sinyao]

@@sIXXIsDesigns There definitely were some actions in the beginning of the war, although mostly superficial. I've also heard rumours of a Russian company or two having digital assets being erased tercel, but I haven't seen proof of that. And there was also major hacks that affected electrical infrastructure in Georgia a few years back, as well as am attempted interference in their electronic election process.

[@oodles86]

Are the recent US hospital attacks worth covering?

[@Sinyao]

@@oodles86 The ransomware ones? The ones regarding the UK hospitals were mentioned briefly on the REvil episode recently.

[@oodles86]

@@Sinyao yes. I suppose he'd need an insider to make a story of it though.

[@niclans82]

Hmm... I'm guessing it's starts with the letter Q...

[@JJ-fr2ki]

1 sociopath, 1 Harvard lawyer adventurer (climber, glider, mud runner) with normal morals. I know two Navy Seals.

[@michinwaygook3684]

I went to American school as a child and it always amazed me how much Americans have their blinders on about their own country. I was immediately taken back by some of the things we were "asked" to do or believe. Both my best friends were patriotic Americans, but I would call their belief more borderline nationalistic than patriotic. It was impossible to have discussions like 'did the Americans win the Space Race?' We wouldn't even be discussing that they definitively didn't, as I would clearly acknowledge that getting a man on the moon first was a great achievement, but the Soviets had 50+ firsts compared to the U.S's 20+ firsts. In addition the Soviets weren't using Nazi war criminals to spearhead their program, but it can certainly be argued they would have done so given the chance. It was impossible to have such an open and frank discussions about the Space program because in their minds teh U.S. was number 1 at everything. The rituals that Americans took as commonplace and expected were creepy and over the top IMO - elementary level school children pledging allegiance before they even know what that meant, saying thank you for your service to every veteran without knowing that veteran or what their service entailed, American flags everywhere, having to stand and hold your hand over your heart anytime the national anthem is played or getting ridiculed if you didn't, etc. At times it would blot out and dismiss other world views and perspectives and could border on what I would call intellectual starvation. Their government in general would treat the populace rather horribly (i.e. lack of services), but those same Americans that said you can't trust the government as far as you could throw them would be the first to defend them.

[@LabMonkey-k2j]

44:40 I always find it HILARIOUS how naive Jack is. Ever heard of the FBI doing the exact same for decades now ?! 😂😂😂

[@tommysmith8801]

Listening to all these stories, makes me wonder if any of the old exploits I found when I was younger as still viable exploits.

[@runz3295]

Taking my leap into cyber security and these keep me going…thanks brother

[@CartierBK]

love the podcast really intresting stuff every time

[@yuglesstube]

I suspect that Apple and Android are required to provide these backdoors by law, and are prevented from disclosing their existence. If it computes and connects its vulnerable.

[@fmore2]

My thoughts exactly. When I heard that I immediately thought of the Apple PR campaign on 2015/2016 after the San Bernardino shooting. For me it was obvious how law enforcement got into the iphone.

[@kylelongwood11]

I feel like your style of story telling and interviewing is exact how I would do it IF!! big if, I knew who to interview, how to interview, how to story tell, how to edit, how to drop KZbin vids, how to drop podcast, or how to do anything you are so naturally great at!!lol 😂😂😅😂

[@DevilbyMoonlight]

Top stuff, thanks for the insight, and strangely enough it explains a lot of what we are seeing happening to some well known personalities lately...

[@WizardOfTheKremlin]

David was recruited by the company in University, went to JOT in the navy did his required time to make it look official. Just so happens to meet that guy who inadvertently talks him out of a career in the navy seals and the rest is history...Gosh how things haven't changed since the 50s.

[@humangarbage3386]

this is ironic my brother was navy now works for the NSA he cant say much so this is nice to hear a little more

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

It doesn't pay to be naive as a hacker or as a journalist. For that matter, it doesn't pay when you're a nobody. If you're going to do anything that will get the attention of, or just generally annoy, powerful people, you should expect to have them come after you. If you want a quiet life, don't be noisy. I find it utterly ridiculous that hackers can be so thoroughly naive as to work for a foreign government, when you can't possibly know what their agenda is. When you do so, you're allowing them to use you for whatever they want, with little to no protection. So what if someone in the US government okayed it? How in hell could they know what the real game is? Truth is, they could be all in on it, and just suckered all these people into committing crimes against human rights.

[@Sasquatchbones]

Pretty solid breakdown

[@huckleberryfinn8795]

This is just a fraction of what governments and corporations are doing around the world.

[@SD-rm5ty]

Yes and I'm breaking out of this cycle of abuse within these corporations, sad my therapist thinks it's delusional thinking when it's actually going on irl. 🙄 I feel like I'm in the Truman show but don't care anymore 😆 I'm out.

[@brainiacrawkib8135]

Nice work Jack. I think it's goona be nice if you will also talk about xkeyscore, NSA, Snowden and the whistleblowing in 2013. I'll really appreciate it. 💯

[@AaronAlso]

For the record, the US Navy has been allowing entry through BUDS for several years. Most still wash out, but are contracted to the Navy, so they got them and will find something for them to do.

[@kazkz5331]

Jack, I would love to hear an interview of the now pardoned Ross Ulbricht if you can get him on!

[@Geoffreykiuna-n4x]

i just found out htis channel and iam gonna be around for a while coz it got me hooked

[@abongiledlova477]

I have just subscribed on this channel and I'm watching for the first time. So are these stories here based on true events? Interesting!

[@Elixir247]

I've listened 1min into this and immediately smashed the subscription button !

[@williamallen7836]

I see your easily fooled into believing what you hear/read as long as it supports your preconceived beliefs. The CIA & NSA loves people like you. You make thier job of narrative control much easier.

[@Elixir247]

@@williamallen7836 That is presumptuous! People can't enjoy books, movies or a good story anymore? Hope you are well my friend ❤️ 🙏

[@SHY_-cq6ro]

Just did the same thing.!! Amazing !!

[@eyephpmyadmin6988]

Another fucking banger you're on top of your game please keep it up, my absolutely favorite KZbinr and I watch a lot of youtube

[@tobybrown1179]

I’ve just come across him, unreal! I watch a lot of u tube also

[@NomdePlume337]

Babe wake up, new Darknet Diaries

[@ozgurnazik3235]

This man really hit the ground running and hasn't stopped yet. He gives us more understanding of him without interviews and negative antics he just shows us who he is through the Recovery. True living legend. We salute you. *MysteryPlanetorg* . The execution, creativity, and goodness that came from it were inspiring on a number of levels. Cheers Alex & looking forward to seeing what you do next!

[@Joseph-on7nf]

Another great one. Missed it when it came out, but happy that I got to see now.

[@just.play1ng]

I can see only one reason why this information is being given to us so freely: recruitment advert

[@fafdus]

i work purely for monetary gain so i am a mercenary lol. were is my tax deduction.

[@UniverseMiddleProductions]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ podcast ❤ is of the highest standard! The BEST! thank you

[@wtfdoiputhere]

Wait wasn't it Pegasus that was used to target journalists with that zero day iOS exploit ?

[@neurosick]

I thought of the same thing

[@thechronic555]

Yea and wasnt it those that you cant name that had and used it? I said already i was surprised that this show never mentioned it OR them..

[@wtfdoiputhere]

@@thechronic555 glad someone else paid attention cause i remember the exact details of how Ahmed fell for the malware and I'm pretty sure it was the Pegasus because it was all over the news upon being discovered by that lab

[@ImEverythingYouCrave]

pegasus was already patched

[@wtfdoiputhere]

@@ImEverythingYouCrave and the group keeps finding out new exploits and zero days

[@oluwakemisolaakeju]

**Most beginners believe that investing in crypto and stock is all about bolding till it rises, with the recent activities in the market and recession. We should know that long term price predictions are very difficult to achieve. It's better to trade short term and make profit..

[@henrymorgan142]

​@christianhudson9285 Wow, I'm surprised you also trade with Alice Lucas. She's the best at what she does.

[@alexanderdonald9167]

Trading with an expert is the best strategy for newbies and busy investors who have little or no time to monitor trade.

[@rodgerselliott3955]

From what I've experienced. Newbies who are not aware of how crypto truly works and wish to make profits from it, I would advise to invest with a professional assigned by a Trading company, It helps secure and minimize the possibilities of losses.

[@OliverJohnston-yl5nl]

Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't need to have a hefty fund or ultra deep pockets like mutual fund to start investing. initially invested $6,000 I was making return of the investment at the end of trading week and reinvested as my profits began compounding.

[@Hashbit]

I have 2million dollars worth of deez coin

[@mikediaz9033]

Ex-AirForce Fighter Aircraft Engine Specialist. Then, 25 yr. Computer Architecture Hardware Specialist. My interest, now. Software Can you educate me, to learn Software infiltration. Extremely fascinated. The simplicity is actually?

[@jono_horry]

Amazing episode as always!

[@psyience3213]

I’m pretty sure the selection process doesn’t work like that. When you joined the Navy, if you’re eligible for that training, you still need to pick a job that way if you don’t wanna make it, they can ship you right off your training and it’s not like you ring the bell and then you go all the way back to the beginning to job selection which is before you join

[@VitalTechnology_]

Thanks for another awesome video Jack!

[@joshm3342]

@47:32 "By sending this crafted text through iMessage, it enables the exploit. In 2017, Apple pushed an update which made this tool much less effective." ANYONE KNOW the CURRENT VULNERABILITY of iPHONES to such an exploit?

[@diegon7781]

It's a bit hypocritical that these hackers' morals only kicked in when they were told to spy on U.S. individuals. While they spied on other people they were all happy to comply. If they were working at the NSA I'm pretty sure there are other morally questionable stories they could recount.

[@MobCat_]

Kinda not surprised that imessage was trying to peek inside zips. if you save a qr code onto your mac, finder will try and scan it to get more info about it.

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Nice PFP. ^_^

[@fmore2]

So the target country was Qatar and the spying was over soccer. Lmao

[@shanenewton8560]

Hahaha..FBI battling irresponsibility of espionage...

[@ryanmoore2047]

@30:24 I thought he was about to admit to outing the FIFA world cup scandal 🤣🤣

[@snarevox]

this type of content is super interesting.. 10/10 woild recommend.

[@स्वप्नांतर]

hypocrisy is appalling lol him feeling sad about being hacked and feeling violated but has no problem doing the same to others.

[@TayyipOzkok]

Your out-of-the-box thinking and unique perspective turned an otherwise mediocre presentation into a fantastic one *MysteryPlanetorg* . You did a good job of catching the mistakes and keeping us from wasting time and by taking the wrong path. Your attention to detail really sets you apart from the crowd. Great work! James, Your great work has resulted in tangible, beneficial results to me. You’re a force to be reckoned

[@devil874]

wow i had a job offer to teach offsec in the uae. now im even more happy i refused.

[@markprendergast2365]

Just thank you guys !

[@Dryout1234]

Jack Rhysider where do u get this stuff I love it 😍

[@swilsonmc2]

Can we safely assume that the UAE is not afraid of any terrorist threat?

[@20chocsaday]

A flag pops up when you don't understand why the target is considered to be a terrorist. It has always been true for the last 40 years that when you are paid much more or tax free that you are displacing one of the local talent and that reason is to keep the locals down.

[@daklakdigital3691]

Nothing can revoke a Passport other than the issuing authority. The Emirates COULD REVOKE A Visa issued to a Foreigner. Britain can revoke a Passport issued to a person born in Britain if they hold a passport issued by another country.

[@Nointrocody]

Whoever works for companies like this and pretends not to know what they're getting into is a liar or a fool

[@harald_schubert]

Show is amazing…, Are there any ways to prevent or protect yourself through all this or general spying attacks?

[@William.Shakespeare]

pull all of the mics and stuff inside your devices like snowden does . it's in the documentary interview .

[@mrmotofy]

Never click links or open unknown emails/messages

[@RizztrainingOrder]

@4:19 thats wild that’s the same excuse that I told myself when I quit.

[@NEDMKitten]

How is this guys voice not Ira Glass?

[@2lefThumbs]

This guy wanted to be a chaplain before he went into the military instead? Where else do you find chaplains these day ? ( only Prisons, cathedrals and stately homes over here in the UK tbh)

[@CiscoZero]

How do you find these guests!?

[@EmmanuelMotelin]

There`s nothing special about Bitcoin`s anonymity, quite frankly the blockchain is a great place to track someone! Great story and actors nonetheless!

[@pin65371]

I like that people don't realize how easy it is to trace bitcoin. It makes it easier for people like coffeezilla to expose scammers.

[@happythanos6632]

@@pin65371 hey man can you please tell me how it's traceable?? The whole point of crypto was it's untraceable & decentralized right?

[@pin65371]

@@happythanos6632 everytime a transfer happens its in a public record. It is decentralized but that doesnt mean it's anonymous. It can be anonymous but the majority of people don't cover their tracks. Look up coffeezilla on KZbin. He has done a few investigations and managed to track who owns the wallet. Once you know thr owner everything is out in the open.

[@happythanos6632]

@@pin65371 thanks buddy.

[@km2766]

​@HAPPY THANOS once you put a name to a wallet number you can see their entire bitcoin transaction. once you find the transaction where coin becomes dollars etc then you 'follow the money.' I don't follow other coins but people wash coins through other coins before getting cash. there are database programs that you can import the block chains into and query wallets etc. also works vice versa so if you put 1000 dollars into bitcoin then got arrested amd they subpoenad your account information from an exchangefor buying drugs and you used bitcoin now your purchases can be traced to the dealers wallets.

[@noThankyou-g5c]

30:45 wait till he hears what the NSA is doing!

[@u-N16z0rz]

Yeah, the way the story is framed is comical, as if we don't already know about NSA's bulk collection program. And even that is already well within *mainstream* awareness of domestic US gov surveillance of US citizens. What a joke.

[@Gatorade69]

@@troglodyte1052 I don't care that they are tracking me. i HaVe NoThInG tO hIdE !

[@LouieCartoon]

underrated channel

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

Sounds like alot of metal gymnastics going on here to justify being the bad guy.

[@GhidoraKidora]

I promise the most therapeutic part to me is how it comes on. Fist turn on CPU. Watch the color spread thru the CPU 🗼. Watching the hacker falling like Icarus...

[@ALee-2DAnimator]

It's 3am.... Yes..... Yes, I will listen to this as I lay in bed. Let's go!!

[@javlynblue2024]

We Humans. How aweful we truely are. It is no wonder everyone is suspect.

[@pd1jdw630]

I wanna steal that raven art. 👌🏻

[@timebong8366]

A shipmate, but I know he was an east coast cruiser because Abu Dhabi was a mainstay on Westpac's.

[@JK-gm6kk]

All my internet accounts were compromised starting in 2014, when I was under investigation via usaf osi, due to the particular way I attempted sewerslide. Thankfully, I could get a bunch of stuff off my fb page,from a friend who was still friends with the compromised account, and was able to get everything off it that I wanted to keep. Never got any of them back tho.

[@Thegiver94]

Ah ok....was your SSN every blocked ?

[@d.l.d.l.8140]

Rory squealed on dissidents in an authoritarian state.

[@askianvan]

You kinda left out the SMS admin messages that don't make it past the radio software on all phones. Nice little JAVA workspace in there...

[@DJDishes]

What do you mean

[@Mrbrownthesemite]

Class 0 sms

[@geckoo9190]

I know that it was declassified, still for a secret operation, you have a lot of details.

[@normawong123]

Tore says was recruited by C_A during her Navy enlistment. She's awesome.

[@homie-hb_thatsMe]

Danger is getting out of hand

[@B.a.r.c.o.d.e....]

Another great 1

[@IApsylence]

My day is better when u upload sir

[@noThankyou-g5c]

Also, why is this ep 47 but the previous episode is 126? Is it just a backlog from a podcast site your not uploading in order?

[@paranormaldino5495]

He only recently started uploading the podcasts to youtube. All of the podcasts are on Spotify and such places (126 episodes in total)

[@ThatGuy182545]

Yeeeeeaaaahhhh…. I’m a little skeptical of this story. In order to become a Navy Seal you must be in the navy at least two years and already have a rating (job). If he had “rang out” of BUDS he would have gone back to his regular job (already trained). It’s not an “initial school.” I’m getting Dan Bilzerian vibes from this story.

[@esk8er900]

I suspect a bit of time compression / paraphrasing here. Given the high level of quality & fact checking behind this production I don’t see why it wouldn’t be legit.

[@williamallen7836]

​@@esk8er900 That's exactly how the "best" lies are told. Plenty of verifiable true information to convince you to over look, or justify obviously false information that is key to bonifides of the person/story.

[@TruthIsEverything]

Am I the only one who immediately thought the Karma tool is how the Fappening occurred? The initial Fappening happened in 2014 which would make perfect sense….

[@drophammer776]

Take Note: Offensive work. Not defensive.... Offensive Hacking. American Citizens including. Remember to say goodmorning to your microwave when you get up.

[@RomaineRC]

sick episode man

[@DgarciaA-hj8qc]

I worked for a government in return they were gonna give me a citizenship or a status with in the country i live now they promised which they lied so now I'm stuck and now I hired lawyers to represent me just to get a status

[@Timespace101]

I love this channel

[@GratuityMedia]

I really like your show, thanks

[@ZetaReticulian]

How…. Does this channel ONLY have 100k subs??!?!

[@markarca6360]

It reminds me of an Apple ad. Privacy. That's 🍎.