Press a Button, Hack a Nation
How Ex-NSA and Israeli Agents Built a Global Surveillance Empire Under Abu Dhabi’s Banner
Karim Sabbagh was live on CNBC when a news anchor asked him, “Can you categorically say that Dark Matter doesn’t spy on American citizens?”
His answer was,
“We don’t do that; that’s not within our capabilities. So categorically, we don’t do this.”
~ Karim Sabbagh
But William Binney—once the Technical Director for SIGINT Automation at the NSA—had something revealing to say.
He remarked,
“They are lying. I designed these mathematical programs. We had no upper limit on the capacity to handle data. There was no problem at trillions, quadrillions of data…doesn’t matter.”
~ William Binney
The Dark Matter
Let’s have a look at Dark Matter. It’s a cybersecurity agency founded in 2014 by Emirati businessman Faisal al-Bannai, with its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It enables societies and economies to pursue their agenda of smart and safe digitalization, according to Karim Sabbagh.
Karim is a former CEO of Dark Matter, a company accused of exploiting privacy, not only in the UAE but worldwide.
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In October 2016, American journalist Jenna McLaughlin published a report at The Intercept, in which she reported that Italian cybersecurity specialist Somne Margaritelli was approached by Dark Matter.
Dark Matter operating Pegasus spyware.
The report further claimed that Dark Matter had laid down a sophisticated spyware network in the UAE, saying,
“It can hack any device it wants to be in the UAE at the press of a button.”
In another report at The Intercept, Jenna reported that employees at Dark Matter were told to work on offensive operations under the banner of the UAE’s National Security, just like NSO is working under the banner of Israel’s National Security.
So, based on these reports, Dark Matter appears to function similarly to NSO Group.
What if I tell you that this duplicate has something suspicious regarding its employees?
Multiple reports, including those detailing the Margaritelli case, indicate Dark Matter recruits experienced cybersecurity experts worldwide, including numerous veterans of the NSA.
A report with similar claims says that
“Ex-National Security Agency hackers and other US intelligence and military veterans, together with Emirati analytics, compromise computers of political dissidents at home and abroad.”
However, Jenna then published another report, which created unrest among the Dark Matter. She said that besides ex-Americans, ex-Israeli intelligence officers are also hired by Dark Matter on astronomical salaries.
An interesting aspect is still left. According to Citizen Lab, Dark Matter is the main operator of Pegasus Spyware in the UAE.
Therefore, we can conclude that the effort to hack Ahmad Mansoor’s iPhone was carried out by Dark Matter. (To learn more about Ahmed Mansoor, visit my previous article.)
And such unethical operations never stopped. In 2018, the Beirut Bureau Chief of The New York Times received an infected text message. An effort to hack his phone by the use of Pegasus Spyware, backed by Dark Matter.
In July 2020, Rania Pridi, a journalist at Alaraby TV, experienced the same.
My purpose isn’t to scare you; it’s to uncover truths, expose clandestine operations, and offer you a glimpse into this elusive world.
This modern age is driven by power dynamics, where unethical behavior is often woven into the fabric of the game. To win, morality becomes a burden.
The less humanity you carry, the more power you gain — and with that power, you rule.
