Pluralistic: Israeli ad-tech company was a delivery system for "mercenary spyware" (17 Oct 2026)

Today's links

Israeli ad-tech company was a delivery system for "mercenary spyware": And they used Google, Facebook and every other major ad platform to do it.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Big Mouth Billy Bass x Linux; No-Fly lists v common sense; Lemony Snicket advises the 1%; "Aloha From Hell"; KSR v Elon Musk; "Everything Belongs to the Future"; Trump's mail-servers run Win2003; Copyfraud v covid.
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Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

A universal remote for killing people: It's really time to trade in your Medtronic Minimed insulin pump. Really.
New podcast episode: Part 12 of my reading of "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town.
The sordid tale of We Charity: Black Hat SEO, investigating critical journalist's children, and more.
NSO Group cyberweapons targeted Togo's opposition: Another dictator for NSO's reference customer list.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

John Oliver's comprehensive explanation of the rot in US policing: It's in every bone and organ.
Cox violates the Geneva Conventions: The throttling will continue until morale improves.
Paramount's Unproduced Screenplays: A core sample of 1,000 ideas from the vault.
Police budgets are out of control: "More than the city spends on health, homelessness, youth development and workforce development combined."
Auditing Omniballot, a terrible e-voting system: Paper ballots, marked with pencils, accept no imitations.
Who are Dark Basin?: Outing the cybermercenaries who attacked Net Neutrality and anti-Exxon activists.
NYPD's structural racism: Bulk of NYPD human rights complaints come from Black and Latinx youth.
IBM kills facial recognition program: But the problem with facial recognition isn't just "bias."
Nutrition labels for IoT: Only works if there's competition.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading